From Where I Stand

From where I stand at the Sheaff Gallery, Te Kōputu a te Whanga a Toi Whakatāne Galleries

Home is not only found in temporal or pictorial space, but also in community these artists have together and the joy they find in creation. Eight Whakatāne artists have operated outside the classical hierachies of vanishing points and horizon lines, giving the observer a given perspective in time and place. Each piece is a reflection of home, explored via universalised design principles and processes of production, using utilitarian material such as thread, fibre and fleece. Innovation in textile art has always served as a precursor to larger shifts in cultural and material realities – from the advent of rare dyes and the global markets they generated to today’s fashion economy and its irreducible impact on natural resources. It is a form of art that both predates and sits at the forefront of modern expression. Often the creative discipline available to women, textile art has a profound place in history of female art and female emancipation. Generations of traditional craft making have come to the fore in these art works in the here and now.

This exhibition features local fibre art collective Peggy Cayton, Mary Transom, Yulene Watts Margaret Mckerras, Pauline Dennis, Jan Elrick and Caroline Stewart.