Various Artists with Nicholas & Beth

Pet, is a chilling new psychological thriller from internationally bestselling author Catherine Chidgey which came on the 8th of June. Told from a single point of view, so as not to show the hand of the novel’s other characters, Pet is an unflinching examination of the corrosive power of guilt and the extent some people will go to cover their tracks.

Because on Various Artists we consider all creative endeavours to be artmaking in the broadest sense, and writing an art form very worthy of our time, this week Frances caught up with the creative mind behind Pet to hear about how it came to fruition.

Another awesome show at Basement theatre next week! Johanna Cosgrove’s stand up show ‘Hi, Delusion’ is running once again after a sold out run last month. This is depicted as a casual descent into the void , it’s hilarious, dark, and it’s fantastic. Liam had a chat to Johanna about how the show came together. 

Hamish Carter is an emerging interdisciplinary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. His work is guided by a decolonising framework, a methodology around reciprocal exchange with local ecosystems, and theories on walking as performative action. Having recently completed a Masters in Visual Arts at AUT in 2022, culminating in the exhibition Walking-Witness, Treaded-Trace, Hamish has developed a mobile artmaking practice using graphite frottage (rubbings), paper, ink, wood, and charcoal to work collaboratively and on-foot with more-than-human occupiers of urban ecosystems in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. 

To Breathe, To Sit, To Listen, To Talk is his new show at Window Gallery which opened on Wednesday. It explores the possibility of a relational artmaking practice engaging in more-than-human dialogue with trees and other living entities in nearby Albert Park. This dialogue is proposed as an urban place-making strategy in collaboration with the park’s long-term occupants, to tell a place-specific story of its complex history. 

Frances talked with Hamish on Various Artists to hear about his work and process. 

This week, Frances chatted to artist and Māori fibre weaver Shona Tawhiao, who has created new semi-abstract sculptural forms based on seedpods, a powerful metaphor for renewal of life forces. 

Pākākano celebrates the traditional skills of raranga while proposing a new and important way at looking at weaving as its own standalone entity, challenging, exciting and inspiring. It's on at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery 03 June - 03 September 2023.