27 May – 2 July 2016
Gus Fisher Gallery

Laurence Aberhart
With: The Kauri Project, The New Zealand Tree Project, Gretal Boswijk / Auckland Tree Ring Lab
Also exhibiting: Sait Akkirman, John Savage

Wooden architecture defines nineteenth and twentieth century building in Aotearoa. Laurence Aberhart celebrates the vernacular building material in an exhibition supplemented with wooden exhibits and displays on the conservation of trees. In association with McNamara Gallery Photography.

Public Programme

Saturday 28 May, 1pm

Kauri have long been an important part of the history of our country, contributing not only to the economic development but also to our creative output. Join The Kauri Project curators Chris McBride and Ariane Craig-Smith along with Dr. Nick Waipara, Principal Advisor Biosecurity for Auckland Council, to discuss the story of kauri, kauri dieback disease and what it means for the future of our relationship with this taonga tree.

Kauri Project artists

Laurence Aberhart, Nicole Charles, Star Gossage, Jo Hardy, Kura Te Waru-Rewiri

Series II of the Kauri Project Poster Artworks were launched at the Celebrating wood: Back to the Future exhibition. The new edition works add to the five produced in 2014 (Series I Artists: Charlotte Graham, Philip Kelly, Tessa Laird, Haruhiko Sameshima, Natalie Robertson).

LAURENCE ABERHART

Interior #9, Matakohe, Kaipara Harbour, 6 December 2006
Silver Gelatin Print

Laurence Aberhart began photographing in the late 1960s. Amongst contemporary photographers Aberhart stands out for his longstanding commitment to traditional photographic processes, shooting in black & white with an ancient Korona 8 x 10” view camera, and developing both the large format negatives and prints himself. His long exposures and centred compositions result in distinctive images, rich in texture and detail. He has described his role as a photographer as that of “being of one who was to notice change and record that which could be lost from collective memory.” Since 1983 Aberhart has lived and worked from Russell in the Bay of Islands, travelling regularly both within New Zealand and overseas to photograph.

Note: Not available as digital print edition – available only in poster format.

NICOLE CHARLES

Learn to Swim, 2016
594mm x 420mm
Digital Print: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Archival Paper 310gsm
Original Artwork: Oil on Board

Nicole Charles is a multi-media artist living at the edge of the Waipoua forest. In 2013 she completed a BFA (Hons) at Elam School of Fine Arts. Her practice explores the human condition in relation to the natural world, and seeks to highlight a spiritual and emotional entanglement that flows both ways.

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STAR GOSSAGE

Kauri Kaitiaki, 2016
594mm x 420mm
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Archival Paper 310gsm

Star Gossage (Ngati Wai and Ngati Ruanui) lives on ancestral land in Pakiri. She decided to become a painter at 17, and has exhibited regularly throughout New Zealand and overseas. “My paintings are always reflections of my emotions and feelings throughout my life. My Maori culture and the land that my whanau live on in Pakiri have been my constant inspiration. I admire our connections and the care we take to protect our whenua. My love of gardening and plants is my other greatest inspiration. Nature and emotion are universal, thus I hope my paintings can speak to all cultures, races and peoples, regardless, as we all have an understanding of loving a place and a tree.”

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JO HARDY

Survivors, 2016
594mm x 420mm
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Archival Paper 310gsm
Original Artwork: Mixed Media on Paper

Jo Hardy is a magic realist painter. She makes metaphorical narrative images created from available realities, from imperatives dictated by process and from thin air. She works slowly, on her knees on the studio floor, building up multiple dilute layers of acrylic washes until the pictures glow. She revels in detail. She thinks of the paintings as a kind of visual poetry. Schooled in Dunedin and Christchurch long ago Jo now lives and works on top of an isolated hill near Maungakaramea. Her paintings have been exhibited widely in Aotearoa since 1973. Sadly, Jo passed away soon after completing this artwork.

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KURA TE WARU-REWIRI

Me te kore whakaaro mo te hua – Consider the consequences
594mm x 420mm
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Archival Paper 310gsm
Original Artwork: Acrylic painting on canvas

Kura Te Waru-Rewiri (Ngati Pakahi ki Whaingaroa, Ngati Kahu, Ngapuhi, Ngati Raukawa ki Kauwhata, Ngati Rangi) was born in Kaeo and educated at Northland College and Bay of Islands College, where her art teachers were Selwyn Wilson and Buck Nin, before studying at Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. Currently senior tutor in the Maunga Kura Toi - Bachelor of Maori Art at Northtec Tai Tokerau Wananga, she has been at the forefront of many contemporary Maori art developments in Aotearoa and in the establishment of Maori art education at tertiary level. Her work is represented in numerous public and private collections both nationally and internationally.

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