City Gallery Wellington

I have probably broken numerous copy right laws by doing this post but felt it was probably worth incarceration. I went into one of our favourite art galleries today, the City Gallery, in Civic Square here in Welly. The Maori are well known for their facial moko (tattoos) and the big poster of the Maori chief pictured below caught my eye.



The exhibition is absolutely wonderful and I was enthralled. This coming from a "modernist" is high praise indeed. Apart from the beauty of the paintings themselves the really interesting thing for me, and the purpose of the exhibition, is to view the paintings as a commentary on the introduction of Europeans into NZ and the subsequent affect on society in general. The exhibition is Te Huringa/ Turning point and there is a link to the Fletcher Trust website here.




A good example of the historical context of the paintings is the painting of Te Uira above. Te Uira was the daughter of Te Heuheu Tukino V of Tuwharetoa. Her grandfather, Te HeuHeu Tukino VI, who was also painted by the same artist, gifted Tongariro, Ngarauahoe and Ruapehu to the nation in 1887. This you might think means nothing to you, but if you happened to read my post the other day on the Tongariro Crossing you will see that it was quite a generous gift! Here's a portrait of the chief completed by Atkinson, note the difference in clothing to that of his grand daughter.




Here's some more pics to give you a better idea of the cross section of paintings dating from 1826 to today.





The exhibition is free and closes on the 4th November. If you live in Welly it is a "must see" in my opinion. If you don't live in Welly find out if it's coming your way!

Cathal