Social Amnesia

An exhibition by Vanessa Wairata Edwards

Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi - Whakatane Library and Exhibitions Centre

He Taonga Tonu te Wareware - Forgetfulness is to be reckoned with always

Social Amnesia is the concept of collective forgetting by a group of people. This collective forgetting often occurs after trying and difficult times; there is a tendency for societyto ignore some painful parts of history when discussing the present, and more importantly, informing the future. 

It is easier for the majority to accept a comfortably incomplete understanding so as not to cause unrest and possible rebellion, enabling a community to move on and let go.

But who is doing the letting go?

In this provocative show the artist has shown her developing interest in the whakapapa of Aotearoa, beginning with the introduction of the printing letterpress and its effects on Māori language and culture in the 1800s.  In this world-wide period of turmoil, challenge and social questioning, this is a timely body of work.