Forest has the Blues, a collaborative print installation and exhibition,
was successfully installed at Depot Artspace in Devonport, Auckland
and was open to the public from July 14 - 25th.
To read some background about this project,
The 7 artists involved are:
Celia Walker,
Elle Anderson,
Esther Hansen,
Ina Arraoui,
Kheang Ov,
Nicola Ov
and myself, Toni Hartill
plus work from a group of Esther Hansen's year 13 art students from Pukekohe High School:
Angus Edwards, Aleisha Neary, Bella Luiaka, Jayden Graham, Jamie Galvin,
Thomas Scanlon-Jones, Nevin McCrum, Mary Regala, Yutong Pan, Edin Yin,
Filomina Fagatoa, Christine Tulafono, Sam Lataipangai,
Tamale Talanoa, Eden Hawkins and Chloe Marthe.
Thomas Scanlon-Jones, Nevin McCrum, Mary Regala, Yutong Pan, Edin Yin,
Filomina Fagatoa, Christine Tulafono, Sam Lataipangai,
Tamale Talanoa, Eden Hawkins and Chloe Marthe.
This project incorporated a large-scale print installation of native species and invasive weeds, as well as more than 200 native plants that were given away to the local community during the course of the exhibition.
An exhibition of works based on the theme of forest remnants accompanied the installation.
Forest has the Blues now has a facebook page where you can view multiple albums of photographs of the installation, the opening event, each of the artworks, the students' contribution plus images of the Urban Forests talk by Dr Mike Wilcox and the print demo with the artists. "Like" the page to receive notifications about our ongoing events as we take this project ON THE ROAD!
To follow are just some of the many images documenting the journey so far.
Installation Days 1 & 2
On day 2 of the installation we hung the exhibition of related artworks.
The 200+ native plants were delivered and unloaded.
Finishing touches: the lettering goes up,
...the plants are moved into the gallery.
In print!
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| On the cover of The Devonport Flagstaff newspaper. |
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| We featured in the North Shore Times newspaper. |
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| And again! |
Opening event
According to an official count there were over 200 visitors to the opening event
which we shared with the complimentary themed exhibition Whenua (Land).
The exhibitions were formally opened with a karakia (prayer) and welcome by
Jermaine Reihana followed by brief speeches.
These exhibitions also acknowledged celebrations for Matariki, (Maori New Year),a time to welcome "new beginnings, to reflect on the past and to show respect for the land."
The exhibitions were formally opened with a karakia (prayer) and welcome by
Jermaine Reihana followed by brief speeches.
These exhibitions also acknowledged celebrations for Matariki, (Maori New Year),a time to welcome "new beginnings, to reflect on the past and to show respect for the land."
Forest has the Blues Installation
Cyanotype panels by Celia Walker & Elle Anderson
Kauri trees, boot prints & Pohutukawa flowers by Nicola Ov
Nikau Palms & Puriri leaves by Ina Arraoui
Fern fronds, fern leaves and thistles by Kheang Ov
Foxgloves & cyanotype individual leaves by Elle Anderson
Moth plant, hounds tongue fern and morning glory vine by Toni Hartill
Students' work:
Acanthus by Angus Edwards
Kauri by Aleisha Neary
Crown fern by Bella Luiaka
Montbretia by Jayden Graham
Ponga leaves by Jamie Galvin
Ponga frond by Thomas Scanlon-Jones
& Nevin McCrum
Puka by Mary Regala
Pohutukawa by Yutong Pan
Flax by Eden Yin
Tanekaha by Filomina Fagatoa
Sow thistle by Christine Tulafono
Kowhai by Sam Lataipangai
& Tamale Talanoa
Puriri by Eden Hawkins
Arum lily by Chloe Marthe
(More detailed photographs of the installation
can be seen on the#foresthastheblues facebook page.
There were so many aspects to the installation
that the photo documenting could go on forever!
Leafy labels were used for people to reserve
their chosen plant for pick up later.
Forest remnants exhibition of works
Celia Walker
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| "Remnants, Traces" (Detail) |
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| "Remnants, Traces" - cyanotype, linocut; "Organ Systems I" - cyanotype, drypoint; "Fragile Remnants" - cyanotype, linocut |
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| "Remnants, Traces" (Detail) |
Esther Hansen
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| "Gorse Swing I" - drypoint (Sold) |
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| "Gorse Swing II" - drypoint |
Nicola Ov
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| "New Beginnings" - solar print, hand painted |
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| "Winds of Change" - solar print, relief print, embossed, hand painted, stitched (Sold) |
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| "Winds of Change" (detail) |
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| "Game Over?" - solar print, screen print, stitching |
Toni Hartill
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| "Gone to Pasture. Every. One" - linocut, stitching (Sold) |
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| "Lost Forests of the Plains I, II" - linocut, monoprint, stitching (I Sold) |
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| "RemnantsI,II,III" - linocut (Sold individually) |
Ina Arraoui
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| "Kawakawa" - woodcut (Sold) |
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| "Mamaku" - woodcut |
Kheang Ov
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| "Wonderment & Awe I" - woodcut |
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| "Wonderment & Awe I" - woodcut |
Elle Anderson
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| "Demise through Suffocation I" - cyanotype, monoprint |
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| "Demise through Suffocation I" (Detail) |
"Urban Forests of Auckland"
- a talk by Dr Mike Wilcox
Despite dire weather warnings, heavy rain and cold temperatures we had small group of keen people come along to listen to a very interesting talk about the many aspects to the urban forests of the Auckland region.
Print Demo
- a show and tell by participating artists
Several of the artists involved brought along their printmaking plates
and tools and explained the processes they used to produce their work.
Pack up/ De-install/ Its a wrap!
At only 12 days long this was a short and sweet time frame but we certainly managed to get above the average number of visitors to the gallery in this time, according to the gallery counting.
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| Pre-pack up pic |
Taking it all down and packing it away was certainly a LOT quicker than the install.
We sure created a LOT of pin holes in the walls!
By chance I left the moth plant and the morning glory vine til the end to take down so I was then able to photograph it on its own. Its hard to get an idea of the scale like this but it reaches over 3m up the gallery wall. It was an extra bonus to enjoy the large multi-layered shadows created by the morning glory vine which was suspended from the lighting gantry.
So, that's the "Forest has the Blues" installation and exhibition, mark I, all done and dusted.
Thanks to all who
participated, supported, visited, purchased...
Thanks to Celia Walker
who dreamt up the idea of having an ecological installation in the first place!
Thanks to all of the artists involved - it is a pleasure working with you all!
Thanks to the students of Pukekohe High School
- your huge contribution to our installation added real depth and interest to the show and received a lot of high praise from visitors!
Thanks to the team at Depot Artspace, Devonport
- such a wonderfully supportive team and a beautiful gallery to be a part of.
and a special thanks to Auckland Creative Communities NZ,
Devonport-Takapuna
Local Board, Restoring Takarunga Hauraki
and Devonport Peninsula Trust. We couldn't have done it all without your support!
Finally,
NEWSFLASH!
We are installing the "Forest has the Blues" installation
at the
Auckland Botanic Gardens
tomorrow, Wed 31st July!
We are very honoured to have been invited to install
"Forest has the Blues" alongside "Symbiosis",
an exhibition, curated by Toni Mosley, that looks at the
relationships between plants, trees and other organisms.
Open to the public
5 August - 9 September, 2018.
in the Huakaiwaka Gallery.
Follow our updates on our fb page or watch this space!
Our artists are all members of
and
Thanks for visiting!
Ka kite ano!
