NZ BioCup Art Series
BioPak makes the ordinary extraordinary by offering the humble paper cup as a canvas to promote six talented New Zealand
artists and connect consumers to the environment.
From October 20th, six different New Zealand artists will have their artwork featured on 8oz and 12oz single wall
BioCups. The artworks and artists will change every three months.
With the fast pace of life in the 21st century, people rarely take the time to connect with nature. We hope that the
BioCup Art Series inspires you to stop and appreciate the natural beauty that is all around.
Reuse: And now instead of thoughtlessly discarding your empty cup, keep these beautiful works of art as storage
containers or plant pots to brighten up your workspace.
BioCups don’t just look good, by choosing these cups you help do good. All BioCups are certified carbon neutral, are
made from rapidly renewable, sustainably sourced raw materials and 1% of all BioPak profits are donated to Rainforest
Rescue.
Artist statements
Whakatere by Johnson Witehira
Johnson Witehira designed an artwork specifically for this cup series, named Whakatere, it is based on a pattern known
in Maori culture as puhoro. The puhoro pattern appears in painted kowhaiwhai (designs on the rafters of marae, or
meeting houses) as a form in traditional ta moko (Maori tattoo) and on the undersides of waka (canoe) as they slip
through the water. Wherever it appears, the pattern signifies speed, flow, and continuity. For this cup, Witehira plays
with the puhuro form to create a new, distorted pattern that mimics the effects of a caffeine hit. Coffee is fuel for
everyday life, giving the drinker a boost through the world. A modern puhuro pattern for everyday acceleration.
Lake Pukaki by Katrina McGettigan
Karina McGettigan paints the turquoise ribbon of Lake Pukaki and New Zealand’s ancient glacier’s, with the highest peak
Aoraki Mt Cook dominating the scene. At a time when we are aware of how under threat our oceans, rivers, lakes and
natural environment McGettigen “would like to highlight the importance of individual and group responsibility to
preserve and protect our country. It is time to take positive action to care for and protect our unique paradise at the
bottom of the world.”
Curiosity Cabinet Series by Hannah Jensen
Hannah Jensen’s works from her show CURIOSITY CABINET 2013 referenced Kiwiana themes; influenced by turn of the century
New Zealand postage stamp designs. Jensen achieves the specific effect of her work by applying layers of paint to board
before employing printmaking techniques such as intaglio, etching and carving to create thematic content. The results
are detailed images rendered in negative relief that emphasises the texture and tonal variations between paint colours
in a topographical manner. Using anywhere between 25 - 75 layers of paint, Jensen calculates the depth of each layer to
provide the necessary variations of colour, texture and shadow in the work.
Portals to Summer by Anna Evans
Portals to Summer is a series of round Acrylic paintings on wooden panel depicting birds and flora native to New
Zealand, inspired by the Hibiscus Coast north of Auckland. Anna Evans' paintings take on their own twist with her unique
use of explosive and vivid colour. A firm believer in conservation Anna spends a lot of time in New Zealand's national
and regional parks looking at the native species and imagining a time long before colonization when birds dominated the
landscape, uninhibited by human interference. These paintings are a tribute to the wonderful Department of Conservation
protected bird-life found in Shakespear Park and Tiri Tiri Matangi sanctuaries. The Tui (a regular feature of Anna's
paintings) represents the endurance of a species that is constantly under threat by continuing development, a bird that
seems to defy all odds and survive all the challenges human colonisation throws at it.
Vinegar Hill by Tammie Rose Riddle
Vinegar Hill painting is about saving our land, that we belong to, so it can save us. “Carving out new scars in this
rugged landscape on the edge. It’s a long way to paradise, so it’s worth fighting for, it’s a beauty this place that no
shadow can touch this place, my land.” Tammie Riddle is a self taught artist influenced by early modernist traditions of
painting. The use of Cubism gives depth to her artwork by using multiple and contrasting viewpoints.
Natural Selection by William Eckloff
My work aims at integrating the man-made world with the natural environment by drawing on and highlighting parallels
between these two very distinct and separate worlds. ‘Natural Selection’ illustrates a continuous natural process that
is endemic to New Zealand, and stresses the importance of the creatures depicted in this work in maintaining our current
environmental conditions
ENDS