Various Artists with Sofia & Maya

Sofia had a kōrero with curator and Director of Public Record, Yuka O’Shannessy, and Director of the Arts House Trust, Anita Tótha, about Ma - Yuka’s guest show which opened last week.  

Maya had a kōrero with Artists Karin Montomery, about her current exhibition The Camellia Society on now at Object Space.

Sofia also had a kōrero with artist Peter Robinson about his show on at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery with Italian painter Giorgio Griffa, Differences in kind and rhythm.

Maya also had a chat with artist Li Si Rong about her current show on at Sanderson, Murmuration. 

Whakarongo mai x

Karin Montgomery is a craft-based artist, working from a background in textiles, interior design and her innate passion for ecology.

Montgomery shows an attentiveness to her ecological surroundings, and prides herself as a gardener and an observer with always an interest in making.

As an observer, Montgomery has drawn close attention to the Camellia flower within her current exhibition at Object Space, The Camellia Society. The show presents ten beautifully detailed hand-crafted replica paper Camellias that line the gallery in an ode to a garden.

Paying close attention to a normally overlooked Camellia plant, Karin puts its beauty to the forefront, reminding us of the little nuggets of beauty sitting right in our backyard. Inviting viewers to engage with attentiveness and to become observers of the beauty within our own ecological surroundings.

Maya had a kōrero with Karin about the show and her overall practice.

Tūī Diprose is a queer Interdisciplinary Artist and body worker of holistic healing. In a coming together of knowledge they engage within an artistic practice that centers in jewelry, installation and writing through an exploration of themes of Place, environmentalism, and decolonization.

Diprose’s current exhibition Rituals, at RM weaves together an array of artistic techniques and materials; Silver, sapphire, bone, harakeke, and clay gather within the show to create a symphony of material dialogue.

The works within the show are created within a space of ritual, between a bridging of the physical and metaphysical words, with the spirit world alive. The rituals of diproses creative practice translates to a show that welcomes audiences into a space of ritual, as well as a welcoming into the act of ritual itself.  

Maya had a chat with Tūī about the show.

She started off by asking Tui to speak to their overall practice, their use of mediums, as well as their key themes.

Unerased: Made in Palestine is an exhibition by Pōneke-based artist Emily Hartley-Skudder, illustrator, maker, and activist Pinky Fang, and multi-disciplinary artist Nathan Taare, opening tonight at 250 Ponsonby Road. 

The exhibition began with Pinky’s mother discovering a collection of imported vintage cosmetics at an estate sale in the Hawkes Bay, of which a variety of beauty products - deodorant, hair oil, baby powder, toothpaste, and more - were labelled ‘Made in Palestine’. Notably, the products are all from pre-1948, and a number of the brands are most likely European Zionist manufacturers who had immigrated to Palestine before rebranding their labelling to “Made in Israel” in 1948.

All proceeds from the exhibition go towards Convoys of Good for families in Gaza.

Sofia had a kōrero with Emily Hartley-Skudder about the making of Unerased: Made in Palestine and the exhibition’s kaupapa.

All works are also available online, here.