Good things come in threes

25/01/2015

Good things come in threes:
Impact, Effect & Affect

Corban Estate Art Centre's exhibitions,
February to April 2017

Corban Estate Arts Centre is kicking off 2017 with an exciting all-women line up, featuring three solo exhibitions by Auckland based artists A.D. Schierning, Charlotte Graham and Natasha Matila-Smith. On display from February 17until 9 April, this set of defiant exhibitions employ painting, moving image and site specific interventions, which look at environmental impact and altering social perspectives.

Although the impact of humanity on the natural world is undeniable, the Earth has been in an ever-shifting and self-evolving process for millions of years, as is evident by the long history of extinct plants and animals not related to human presence. A.D. Schierning’s latest exhibition At a Loss explores progress, loss and meaning through painted biological accounts of endangered plant species on native wood samples. These samples include 100 year old legally felled pohutukawa, made possible by a recent change to the Resource Management Act in September 2015 which allows the felling of any tree on private land.

As an artist, Charlotte Graham consistently draws on her Māori heritage to address critical issues that affect New Zealand society and indigenous land rights. In her latest solo exhibition, Waikawa, Graham has created an immersive moving image work to bring focus to the devastating impact and effects of overconsumption and ocean acidification upon tribal lands and seas. In this work, the artist provides a voice for overlooked communities, particularly indigenous peoples, whose lives are deeply impacted by environmental issues.

Central to This sky, too, is folding under you, our Gallery One exhibition, is an idea of transforming and extending perception of the space. Artist Natasha Matila-Smith has collected materials from the Corban Estate site to explore efficiency of resources, creating site-specific interventions that challenge conventions of the ‘normal’. These quiet visual shifts, using repurposed local materials, become a metaphor for changing ideas around a restrictive and exoticised Pacific aesthetic in the arts.

These three solo exhibitions are a great indicator of current concerns in 2017. It is assuring that there are efforts by such artists to better understand the plight of our natural environment as well as an endeavour to address exoticisation and misrepresentation of marginalised peoples. This is a dynamic start to our 2017 programme, which will continue to showcase local and nationwide contemporary artists.

As part of the exhibition, on Saturday 25 February Natasha Matila-Smith and curator Cora-Allan Wickliffe will lead a discussion panel to further explore ideas of Pacific and Indigenous representation in the arts.

Further on in the programme, on Saturday 1 April, there will be a joint artist talk with Charlotte Graham and A.D. Schierning who will discuss their exhibitions. These exhibitions are associated with the TEMP festival.

-ENDS-

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