Past Exhibitions
taku tuhoetana - Aimee Ratana
Duration: 19th April – 25th May 2008
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Tangi - Rona Ngahuia Osborne
Duration: 19th April – 25th May 2008
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Whakatāne: A Photographic History
Duration: 8th March – 13th April 2008
Beginning in the 1870’s when photography was a recent introduction to the district the photographs in Whakatāne: A Photographic History show how the landscape, people and past-times have changed over the period of 100 years. All of the images in this exhibition are from the Whakatāne District Museum and Gallery photographic collections. Arts & Culture Manager Ray Thorburn says “we are overjoyed to be able to show off some of the fantastic images from our collections”. Programme & Education Co-ordinator Karl Chitham says “we are extremely grateful to the Whakatane Sister Cities Committee for giving us this opportunity”. Return to top |
Uncle Tasman - The Trembling Current That Scars The Earth
Duration: 8th March – 13th April 2008
Robertson is adamant that her work “is not trying to capture and expose environmental abuses, but to record the few remnants remaining of what once was.” As part of this project Robertson has also recorded stories by those that have grown up and live in the area. These oral histories describe the enormous sense of loss that changes to the landscape have brought about. The work includes personal accounts of the complete devastation to places of importance for local Maori especially Lake Rotoitipaku, which is now completely filled with industrial waste. Programme and Education Co-ordinator Karl Chitham says “We are excited to be able to present an installation of this quality, which is not only visually stunning but contains stories and issues of enormous significance to local communities”. Natalie Robertson has established herself as a significant figure in the New Zealand art scene for her innovative interpretation of aspects of New Zealand’s history. Robertson, who originally trained in topographical Draughting, is fascinated with the way in which land is mapped, defined and occupied. This interest has also led to an exploration of Maori and pakeha conceptions of land. The artist will be attending the opening event along with a number of individuals who participated in the making of the work. For further information please contact the following: Natalie Robertson Colleen Skerrett White |
Misty Frequencies
As the Che Fu song suggests Misty Frequencies are smooth-sounding with a fresh, funky vibe. This curated exhibition highlights slick and stylee artworks from New Zealand and international artists including Andrew Mcleod, Sarah Munroe, Kim Meek, Jonathan Brown, Trust Me, Dieneke Jansen and Eric Orr. Misty Frequencies features works ranging from low-tech stencil graffiti to high-resolution digital photography, and carved greenstone to hot-rod finished fibre-glass. |
Tautoko
New Zealand has had a tense association with the museum and an even more uncomfortable relationship with the idea of collections. Through trade, exchange, confiscation and collusion many of this country’s treasures have found their way into public and private collections both here and internationally. As a response, many artists from as early as the 1920’s have tried to understand the sense of wonder that the museum and collections hold for the public. Some have tried to describe the enigma of the collection by developing their own museological approaches to the world around them. Others make these references in more subtle ways. Each of the artists in Tautoko, engage with ideas of tradition, culture and the layers of history inherent in museological practice. They have developed individual taxonomies which reflect their own interests and ideas. With works by Nick Eagles, Paulus McKinnon, Toni Mackinnon, Rangi Kipa, Fiona Pardington, Rachel Bell, Warwick Freeman and Gina Matchitt, Tautoko engages with the potential for museums and their collections to collaborate with and support the presentation of contemporary art and concepts. |
Te Wheiao: A digital Installation by Craig Kurei Matenga-Moni
Te Wheiao is a term widely used in karakia (prayer) to describe a transition from one realm or state to another as in, from darkness to light, from unconsciousness to consciousness, and from birth until death. Because our universe and everything in it, is in a constant state of flux one could therefore conclude that we are constantly in a transitive state, or in Te Wheiao. Early Mäori used aspects of their natural environment to denote universal phenomena and principles. An example of this is karakia that describes the cycle of life. Using the growth of a tree as an example the karakia would relate the trees cycle from it’s germination as a seed through to its maturity and finally it’s inevitable death. The cycle of life is also denoted in the structure of a whare tipuna (meeting house). The poutahuhu (front post) at the front of the whare marks the beginning of a life cycle and goes on down the length of the tahuhu (roof centre beam) to the poutuarongo (end post) at the rear of the whare, which represents death. Te Wheiao relates the transition periods as elements of a cycle. There is no beginning and no end as all cycles are infinite. Each of the whare (houses) depicted in the installation have motifs and patterns related to a te wheiao karakia. This work communicates a number of conceptual and spiritual dimensions, however ultimately it is the viewer what each transition means to them. |
The Livlif Project
This solo exhibition featured works created entirely from 1480 bras donated by breast cancer survivors and supporters throughout New Zealand. The major work was a stunning wall installation of 668 survivors’ bras. Lambert had also painstakingly hand-sewn hundreds of supporters’ bras into sculptural forms that celebrate strength, courage and new beginnings. |
Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Awards: Glass
In the last years of his life Frank H. Canaday of New York made a number of gifts to the New Zealand arts community. In most if not all cases these gifts went to trusts created in memory of Molly Morpeth Canaday, Frank¹s first wife. The Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Award has been established as an annual event to encourage and recognise excellence in creativity and craftsmanship in the area of three-dimensional art. In 2007 we aim to encourage and promote excellence in glass design and craftsmanship. In years to come other media may be chosen, but always with a three-dimensional focus. This year we had the pleasure of hosting an international judge who is recognised throughout Australasia and America as an expert in applied and decorative arts. Grace Cochrane, former senior curator of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney joins us as the inaugural judge of our new Glass focus for the Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Awards. |
“Caring For Our Land” An Exhibition and Auction20 July – 11th August 2007 The Eastern Bay of Plenty branch of Forest and Bird held an art auction as a fundraiser for existing and new projects. As part of their ongoing work to protect our local landscape, Forest and Bird volunteers participate in numerous ecological projects around the Eastern Bay of Plenty district. This work includes the conservation, regeneration and protection of marine reserves, wetlands and significant cultural areas. To help them continue this important work for our community Forest and Bird have organised an exhibition of local artists’ paintings and works on paper which will then be auctioned to the public. Many of the artists involved generously donated works to the event in support of the amazing work that Forest and Bird carry out. |
Whakatane Society of Arts & Crafts Exhibition 2007
The Whakatane Society of Arts and Crafts was established over 20 years ago. The society has a significant number of discipline specific groups which contribute to the creative mix of ideas and mediums employed by its members. This year the exhibition once again highlights the diversity and talents of the various Society members. The exhibition includes paintings in a variety of media, wood turning, textiles, ceramics and decoupage. Many of the works demonstrate a flare for experimentation which is part of the Society’s focus for this exhibition. |
Ko Tawa: Taonga from our Ancestral Landscapes
Ko Tawa is the name Maori bestowed on a remarkable man, more famously known as Captain Gilbert Mair. As a linguist, soldier, Court Assessor and humanitarian, tribal communities of the central North Island of New Zealand presented Mair with some of their most valued taonga – ancestral treasurers. Having grown up amongst Maori, Mair understood the importance of receiving such gifts. He ensured the associated narratives remained attached after passing them into the safe-keeping of the Auckland Museum in 1890. Consequently, each taonga in the Ko Tawa exhibition (selected from Mair’s collection of 247) continues to carry a unique story, intimately linking today’s descendants to ancestral landscapes and reminding us of the rich, genealogically-deep history on which our nation is built. Ko Tawa was designed to bridge present and past: to make these unique taonga accessible to Maori living away from their home-marae communities, while providing all visitors with an insight into the contemporary world of the Maori. |
The Terraces: Drawings of the Pink and White Terraces by Rod Eales
Until the Tarawera eruption of 1886, New Zealand’s worst natural disaster on record, the Pink and White Terraces were widely considered to be the eighth wonder of the world. Artist Rod Eales has responded to this loss by creating a suite of drawings which document and celebrate these natural wonders. During the late 19th Century, the area around Mount Tarawera became known to European visitors for its high spouting geysers and hot springs. People travelled from around the world to view the Pink and White Terraces, and to bathe in their warm soothing mineral pools. It was New Zealand’s most famous tourist attraction. Eales has references this in her work by taking her imagery from the numerous photographs and paintings of the terraces created before the 1886 eruption. |
taku tuhoetana is a contemporary photographic installation by photographer Aimee Ratana. Being of Tuhoe descent, Ratana has produced a significant body of works which explore the rich histories of iwi, hapu and whanau.
These new works will be exhibited alongside Tuhoe images from the photographic archives of the Whakatane District Museum & Gallery. Ratana is also keen to show the importance photography now holds within Maori culture, both as a physical reminder of the past and also as an ongoing record of the present.
Haki (flags) take on a life of their own when raised to the sky. They identify who we are, where we are from, our needs, our intentions, they transcend spoken language. Te Kooti used many such flags freely, adopting the symbols imported by the christian church and imbuing them with new meaning.
This exhibition by textile and multi media artist Rona Ngahuia Osborne features works which explore the myriad of meanings associated with the haki. In a district with a long history of conflict, Whakatane is well placed to host an exhibition which is both softly spoken and sympathetic to the issues of change.
Having recently returned from a successful showing at the Kamagaya City Museum, Japan; Whakatāne: A Photographic History celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the signing of a Sister City Agreement in 1997. In October 2007 the exhibition travelled to Kamagaya with a group of students from Trident High School. The exhibition was very well received and plans are already underway for an exhibition of photographs from Kamagaya to be shown here in October this year. 
Uncle Tasman is a beautiful and moving video installation by photomedia artist Natalie Robertson. The installation documents many significant sites around Robertson’s hometown of Kawerau that have been irreversibly damaged by local industry, including the ever controversial Tasman Pulp & Paper Mill. 
26th Jan – 2nd Mar 2008
10th Nov – 13th Jan 2008
10th Nov – 13th Jan 2008
18th August – 30th September 2007
6 October – 4 November 2007
5th June – 15th July 2007
10 March - 20 May 2007
25 November 2006 – 14 January 2007