Upcoming projects/exhibitionsRuby Brown / Ngāpuhi ~ Pākehā (Scotland)
He Whakaari Ātārangi / Shadow Play
—A study of movement, shadows & play Featuring paintings, sculptures and found objects and materials, Ruby’s residency project continues her longstanding inquiry into the connections between creative practice and the everyday human experience of spirituality and place. The project takes its inspiration from the Māori creation story of Ranginui (the sky) and Papatūānuku (the Earth). As the Māori composer, performer and researcher Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal writes: Every culture has its traditions about how the world was created. Māori have many of them, but the most important stories are those that tell how darkness became light, nothing became something, earth and sky were separated, and nature evolved. Through the spoken repetition of these stories, the world is constantly being recreated. In her creative practice, Ruby uses painting, sculpture and found materials to speak and mime the feeling and movement of these stories to remember and renew her shared sense of emotional connection with place and community. At the heart of the artist’s search is a spirit of experimentation and play.
It’s a sensibility that draws from her work as a primary school teacher, her weekly meditation and dance practice and her Māori culture, where there is a strong connection between play and spiritual life, including relational connectedness (whakapapa) to each other and the natural world. The first instalment of the project will be about research, making and ideas - an examination of the idea of ‘shadow play’, the sense of dualism present in this conjoining of words that provides a scaffold for her study into movement, shadows and play. In the exhibition space, for nine consecutive weeks, three bodies of historic works will be presented alongside found objects and research materials that will inform site-based conversations with audiences and the making of new works of painting and sculpture to be presented in August. 9 -30 June: Repetition: Thinking & Filling Gaps:
The first body of work to be shown will be a selection of her distinctive ‘gap filler’ paintings. 30 June – 21 July: Sculpture & Shadows:
The second body of work to be shown will be a selection of sculptures made from found objects and materials, finished and in progress. Ruby will also use this time to examine the ancient lost wax casting technique, which has long interested her for its mirroring (shadow) effect – the way it can be used to invert form and image, self and other.
21 July- 11 August: Play:
The final body of works to be shown will be a selection of fabric paintings made from found materials. During the residency, we’ll also explore several fascinating cross-disciplinary collaborations and complementary programs through on-site studio work and audience programming. In June, we will be spending some time reading a series of key texts by First Peoples. The works will be showcased in our window and made available for borrowing. At the end of the month, join us for Ruby’s first open house, where we will spend some time reflecting on the books and their ideas. In July/August, we’ll be celebrating Matariki, the Māori New Year in Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview), with a special weekend of festivities. We also have an exciting dance collaboration/improvisation, poem commission, talks and making activities planned. Watch this space!
|
