 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" by Toni Hartill |
An acquisition...
"Lost Forests of the Plains II"
Cascade structure
Linocut, stitching
I am so thrilled and incredibly honoured that this piece, as exhibited in my solo exhibition Artful Narratives, has been purchased by Auckland Libraries to be added to the Angela Morton Room special collection.
I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to Leanne Radojkovich (research librarian) for her immense support and encouragement in enabling me to present my exhibition Artful Narratives in the "perfect" setting that is the Angela Morton Room. There is a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes in presenting such an exhibition, and Leanne has been both my guiding light and my rock in helping me navigate my way through completely new waters (for me.)
This work attempts to convey the ghostly kahikatea remnants of the Hauraki Plains.
The kahikatea tree now only occurs as forest fragments. Once our tallest tree and an ancient survivor from the Jurassic period, they once dominated the forests that covered the swampy lowland areas of Aotearoa New Zealand. Unfortunately, this land, once drained, was perfect fertile farmland and so the trees were cleared in great swathes to make room for dairying and the timber was discovered to be perfect for boxes to ship butter to the UK. A hive of activity saw the kahikatea forests reduced by 63% in the peak period of 1909 – 1917. It is estimated that more than 98% of pre-European kahikatea has now been lost nationwide.
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" by Toni Hartill (Detail) |
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" by Toni Hartill (Detail) |
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" by Toni Hartill (Detail) |
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" as seen in Artful Narratives by Toni Hartill |
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" as seen in Artful Narratives by Toni Hartill |
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" as seen in Artful Narratives by Toni Hartill |
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" in it's new archival box |
and in sincere appreciation, a GIFT!
Artful Narratives Memento Box
This box and contents have been
specially created to gift to the Angela Morton Room Archive, on completion of
my exhibition, in sincere appreciation for the opportunities provided to me by
Leanne Radojkovich and the AM Room. The box comes in an ochre linen drawstring
bag. The box is covered and lined with hand-printed papers, printed by myself
using various printmaking techniques. The contents includes: flyers, including
for the cancelled dates due to Covid, a catalogue and business card plus a
selection of pieces from the exhibition, and samplers, tests, or scraps from
the making of pieces in the exhibition.
“Field Notes – Manawa”
2018,
Concertina book. Drypoint, collagraph, watercolour, edition of 3/3
“Logbook: Ngunguru River”
2016, Stitched book. Drypoint, monoprint, watercolour, collagraph, stitching, edition
3/3.
“In Residence, In Residence”
2020, Gateway and Inside/Outside Folding Box, Inkjet on light card.
Samplers from the making of “The Butter Book”
2019, Coptic stitched book, linocut, collagraph, digital.
Samplers from the making of “Once a Grand and Noble Forest…”
2019, Linocut, collagraph, digital
Artist’s tools from the “Artist’s Toolkits” series
2021, drypoint, watercolour, collagraph.
 |
| Artful Narratives Memento Box by Toni Hartill |
 |
| Artful Narratives Memento Box by Toni Hartill |
 |
| Artful Narratives Memento Box by Toni Hartill |
 |
| Artful Narratives Memento Box by Toni Hartill |
 |
| Artful Narratives Memento Box by Toni Hartill |
 |
| "Logbook: Ngunguru River", 3/3 |
This memento box has been such a pleasure to put together!
It will be housed in the special archive,
available to be exhibited in the future in the Angela Morton Room
and to be viewed by request.
Ngā mihi nui Leanne and Auckland Libraries.
 |
| "Lost Forests of the Plains II" and the Memento box in the AM archive room |
