Water

WATER

WATER03 May – 25 June 2018Geoff Wilson GalleryWednesday – Friday 10am – 4pmToi te Pito Arts PrecinctGate 3NorthtecWhangarei09 470 [email protected]://www.facebook.com/geoffwilsongallery/AcknowledgementsIn order to present Water as an exhibition, thanks must go to the all ofartists for their allowing their beautiful works to be shown at the Geoff WilsonGallery, Whangarei.Ellie Smith for inviting me to curate at the Geoff Wilson, Angela Carter, forher commitment and support, Lydia Anderson of Tegan & Lydia Photography,for design in all of media publications and Nimmy Santhosh for designing thecatalogue.Thanks also to Benjamin Pittman for cultural guidance.

WATER‘Ma te wai, ka ora tonu ngā mea katoa!’Through water, all things live! Water gives life to all things!This virtually colourless, fascinating fluid, H2O, when magnified consists oftriangular forms, each containing hydrogen and oxygen; it is a mystery to us, afluid substance which is able to exist as solid, fluid or gas at ambient temperature.Its pure beauty has the ability, to conjure sensual memories and responses formost of us.There have been studies throughout history surrounding water. Many artistshave pursued the notion of water. Leonardo da Vinci became obsessed withhis research on water. For da Vinci, water was the vehicle of life; rivers, weatherpatterns and blood, all have circulatory systems, each necessitates circulation tocontinue their renewal and existence. 1Life begins, for all mammals, in a bubble, inside a host. We float obliviously,dreaming and growing over several months. Then, literally, our bubble is burst andlife on earth is thrust upon us. Could this explain why humans are magneticallydrawn, to the vastness of the ocean? We long for the sea; to swim, to fish orsimply gaze upon it and listen to its roar.This precious liquid is critical to life’s perpetuation and survival, cleaningus, refreshing us, supplying our foods; life cannot be sustained without it.Paradoxically though, this substance which provides our essentials to survive can,in excess, cause uncontrollable mayhem and chaos in the form of floods, storms,rising sea levels and tsunamis.Yet we love our water, its sublime presence surpasses all we see. Our beautifulplanet when viewed from space, sits like a sparkling jewel amongst our rock,laden solar system. Earth shines through a vaporous atmosphere, glowing blue,revealing evidence, of Earth’s 71% surface area, being covered by water. We aremutually aligned with our planet, as the human form is also made up of around70% water. We are water, we are rivers “connected to everything and everyone inthe universe via one essential molecule”.2The artists displaying works in this exhibition were invited to respond to thenotion of water, bringing their own conversation to the viewer via an image, soundor sensation. Represented here, are diverse discussions pertaining to water’sessential qualities; it’s beauty, the environmental challenges facing it and itssensual nature. All of this, combined with its ability to create life and take it away.Linda CookCurator and Geoff Wilson Gallery Assistant1Leonardo da Vinci Master Draftsman MMoA 20032Alok Jhar The Water Book

Angela CarterSocial Bodies; Ocean of Air, detail, 2018.Installation“…We live not, in reality, on the summit of a solid earth but at the bottom of anocean of air.” – The Invention of Clouds, by Richard Hamblyn (2002).Using garments as signifiers, as tools of socialisation, communication, andbelonging; Social Bodies; Ocean of Air invites the gallery visitor to step into another world. The objects in this exhibition are activated when worn within thespace, the viewer~wearer becomes part of the social experiment, bringing themto life, adding meaning and their own story to the garments.Visitors are invited to consider; what is your relationship with this Ocean of Air?And how do you navigate it? You are invited to use the objects in Social Bodies;Ocean of Air as tools for communication, play and ‘dressing up’.References: Hamblyn, Richard. The Invention of Clouds: How an AmateurMeteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies. New York: Picador, [email protected]://www.instagram.com/prettymermaidspurse/

Benjamin PittmanHe Wai Pūnehunehu II, 2017Oil on canvasBenjamin’s interests and inspirations as a painter, reflect the land, theenvironment and the people. His interest in water grew from ancestralconnections to the oceans (Tangaroa) and also around the nine springs (puna)on his land at Waiotu and the Waiotu River, as well as the fact of water beingessential for all living things.Iwi & Hapū principal affiliations - Ngāpuhi: Ngāti Hao – Te Popoto; Te Parawhau;Ngāti Hauwww.benjaminpittman.com

Brenda BriantWaikare One, 2018Oil on canvas, recycled kauriMy painting is the outcome of years of looking at the Waikare Inlet, in the Bayof Islands, with the dark bush-clad shores and contrasting light-reflectingwaterways. Shore and water are environmentally linked. If you damage the shoreand cut bush and vegetation it affects the water, and if you damage the waterwith siltation and pollution you affect the whole environment. So I see their co-existence as vital. Papatuanuku rests on the shore as guardian.

Denise BatchelorShallows, Dean’s Blue Hole, 2015Film stillShallows – Dean’s Blue Hole was filmed while on residency at ‘Deep Anatomy’,which ran alongside William Trubridge’s international free-diving competitionVertical Blue, on Long Island, Bahamas, 2015.Although this was the artist’s first foray into underwater filming/photography, itpursues a common thread in Batchelor’s practice, of water and breath. Batchelor’swork explores connection and the relationship between time and place. Theseare works of contemplation in which an element of duality is present, offering theviewer access to an interstitial space between movement and stillness.www.denisebatchelor.comhttp://www.eyecontactsite.com/2017/12/the-arts-and-free-diving-in-dialoguehttps://www.art-newzealand.com/Noarticles/issue158.htmlhttps://30upstairsblog.wordpress.comhttps://www.thebigidea.nz/stories/on-the-edges-hokianga-part-two

Emma SmithFinial Forgiveness, 2018Oil on canvas“Large craggy constructions are propped by rickety stakes above rising tides,bathed in a watery night light golf flags testify to more territorial intent thana Sunday game, sticks and pipes swivel in a magnetic impasse and explosionsmomentarily hold their breath; all forms charting the looming certainty, theautomation of the accident.”https://emmasmithtingrew.wordpress.com

William Bardebes and Emma SmithAutoatlantis, 2018AnimationThe expression Peak water is now a common one that refers to the end ofrenewable water supplies. The increasing scarcity of the resource is conspicuousand alarming. Some 780 million people around the globe still lack access to cleanwater and thousands perish daily for a lack of it.Bardebes and Smith’s animation charts the degradation, corruption and pollutionof this vital resource.Autoatlantis represents the fifth collaborative project between Emma SmithWilliam Bardebes.

Jill SorensenUrban Waterfall #1, 2018Digital Video 5min loopNature is not that thing over there, it is this thing right here. We are it and we liveintimately entwined in its many arms and legs. Today, we cannot deny we live in anage in which the greatest driver of geological change is the impact of the actionsof humankind. We can no longer maintain the illusion that culture is exclusivelyours, and lives here with us, while nature exists over yonder, as landscapeor wilderness. No. Now we find that we are living as entities equal to, and ininteraction with, other entities in a wafer-thin biosphere.Water falling from the sky as rain is now our sibling or our lover, passing throughus and through our constructions, as a caress, a cleansing, or as a gouged path ofdestruction.www.jillsorensen.net

Linda CookNimue 2018Oil on linenI clearly remember growing up in the Northern hemisphere and not wantingto leap into the water; the seas were dark green, rough and cold and the riversmuddy, murky and slippery.I recall a family outing on England’s South East coast one hot summer’s day. Wepacked our primus stove, small tent, tea making paraphernalia and buckets andspades. The sands were blisteringly hot. I ventured into the brisk waves of thesea. Taking my eyes off the sea, for a moment I was swept from my feet; awayfrom the world of laughter, seagulls and sunshine, into a realm of slow motion andmuffled voices. I fought to resurface from this ‘otherworld’. Since that day, I havehad a fear of the depths, an alternative unpredictable zone, where life can be lostin a glance.Nimue (Vivien); The Lady of the Lake in English, medieval mythology .https://pursuepaintnz.wixsite.com/paintingzone

Lydia AndersonSurge II (from the Surge series), 2017PhotographIn this body of work, I explore the idea that the ocean has natural healing powers,which can be experienced when in its’ presence. Ultimately I aim to evoke thesense of surrender and vulnerability one encounters when immersed in theocean. I draw influence from two key texts, and my interest in studying ArtTherapy. For an understanding of how the ocean effects our bodies physically, Ilooked at ‘A Dissertation on the Use of Sea Water in the Diseases of the Glands’,by Richard Russell.1 In consideration of the psychological impact of the oceanI was influenced by Wallace J. Nichols’ book ‘Blue Mind’2. Nichols describes thephysiological shift which occurs when we are near the water; he states that adifferent brain network is activated, which allows us to enter a mildly meditative,relaxed state. Nichols explains that when in this state, our quality of thoughtchanges, and we become a little more self-aware and open minded. Throughthis change in the state of mind, ones’ stress can reduce and your thoughts canbecome more innovative and creative.3https://lydiakanderson.weebly.com/1Russell, Richard. Dissertation on the use of sea-water in the diseases of the glands. Place of publication notidentified: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, 2010.2Nichols, Wallace J. Blue mind. Place of publication not identified: Back Bay Books Little Brn, 2015.3Niiler, E. (2014, July 28). ‘Blue Mind’ explores the calming effect that water has on people. RetrievedNovember 16, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/blue-mind-explores-the-calming-effect-that-water-has-on-people/2014/07/28/471d7a5a-11bb-11e4-9285-4243a40ddc97_story.html?utm_term=.89b0bfba8dc1

Martha MitchellHarmony 2018Oil on canvasMartha Mitchell has been exploring the theme of water in a series of paintings,using the concept of water as a symbol of life that cannot be held onto, needingto flow to maintain its vitality and pass on the purity to future generations as asacred gift.www.marthamitchell.co.nz

Natalie RobertsonMussel Gathering, Tikapa Beach [Te Wharau,] 2014Photograph, inkjet printNatalie Robertson (Ngāti Porou, Clann Dhònnchaidh) is a photographic andmoving image artist and Senior Lecturer at AUT University, Tāmaki Makaurau(Auckland). Much of Robertson’s practice is based in Te Tai Rawhiti, her East CoastNgati Porou homelands. Here, her focus is on her ancestral Waiapu River and theprotracted catastrophic impacts of colonization, deforestation, and agricultureon water bodies. As a tribal member, Robertson sees it as a responsibility toprotect the mauri (life force) of the river.She uses photography and video to record the state of the river, surroundingland and to communicate tribal narratives. Drawing on historic archives andtribal oral customs, her research terrain and artistic practice engages withindigenous relationships to land and place, exploring Maori knowledge practices,environmental issues and cultural landscapes.https://natalierobertson.weebly.com/

Robert CarterSynesthetic Washing Machine, 2018SculptureA domestic washing machine is painted matte black except for a single red knoband small red light, while inside it’s circular window, shapes tumble in an endlesscycle of collisions.http://robertcarter.nzhttp://createrevolutionaryart.net/writing/

Front Cover Photo: Lydia Anderson; Back Cover Photo: Linda CookCatalogue design: Nimmy Santhosh [ www.instagram.com/artctistic ]