Of Counting and Devotion at Craft Victoria
On Monday I installed new work at Craft Victoria in the vitrine space. The exhibition is now open to the public and an official opening event will take place on Thursday March 20th at 6pm alongside the opening of exhibitions in the main gallery space. The beads, once simple markers of value, retain their dual function as tools of devotion, recalling the prayer beads of various spiritual traditions. At the heart of the exhibition, The Sage emerges - a hand carved face formed from a local burl. He is the orchestrator, weaving meaning from numbers and symbols, a master of hidden knowledge and sacred patterns. The exhibition runs until April 28th
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Victorian Woodworkers Association artist in residence.
I am incredibly excited to announce that I have been awarded a place in the Victorian Woodworkers Association Artist Residency Program. This prestigious three-year residency offers a unique opportunity to access state-of-the-art woodworking machinery, a fully equipped workshop, and a vibrant community of fellow woodworkers. Alongside five other talented artists in residence, I will have the chance to immerse myself in a collaborative environment, where we can inspire and learn from one another. During this residency, I look forward to refining my craft and working towards upcoming exhibitions. Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize
The ReckoningMy solo exhibition The Reckoning opened last Friday evening at Te Whare Taonga o Waiheke - Waiheke Art Gallery. Presenting a contemplative journey where a series of captivating sculptures delve into the essence of our epoch as one of reckoning. Breathing life into the traditional abacus, Wanda transforms it into a vehicle that traverses the realms of value, systems, economics and spirituality. Finely carved figures and portraits observe the accounting at hand. The exhibition runs alongside the Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on teh Gulf and the Te Tiriti o Waitangi exhibition until April 1st. Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Prize 2024My piece Counting Frames for a Transient Era was a finalist in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards in Whakatane over the weekend. The exhibition is held at Te Koputu a te Whanga a Toi, 49 Kakahoroa Drive Whakatane and features some of Aotearoas leading contemporary artists. The exhibition runs until the 6th of April. Download the Boon Sculpture Trail Map Kirikiriroa Hamilton and walk the trail
https://www.boonarts.co.nz/_files/ugd/8c4ac5_cedaf9ee2e3049eda242080c8e368b86.pdf Boon Sculpture Trail - Kirikiriroa Hamilton
My piece Kirikiriroa Abacus is up for your viewing pleasure in Garden Place, Kiririroa Hamilton as part of the Boon Sculpture Trail. An interest in the divine mathematics in nature is an underlying inspiration for exploring these ancient counting devices. Over time these pieces have grown conceptually to challenge ideas around the perpetual growth economies we find ourselves inextricably a part of and their environmental impacts. More broadly they question what we value and of those things less tangible, how they can be measured. The graphic inner patterning attempts to reference water and the mighty Waikato Awa. The triangular shape of this abacus mimics the classic peaked roof shape, or the wharenui and with it a sense of home. Exhibition runs until March 31st The Portrait and the Abacus
Contemporary Auckland-based artist Wanda Gillespie showcases the exploration of her work in wood from her 2023 art residency on Waiheke Island. Gillespie’s evocative wood carved figures wade through the muddy waters of a transcendent era guided by the sacred mathematics in nature. The exhibition brings together the artists fascination with ancient mathematic curiosities such as the abacus and counting tablets with the emotive hand carved human form. Artefacts of a moment in time, these finely crafted sculptures blend the tangible and ethereal and invite us to collectively reconsider our values as we embark on a new era of existence. My solo exhibition opened last Friday at Waiheke Art Gallery marking the end of my artist residency on the island. Waiheke Art Gallery 2 Korora Rd, Oneroa, Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand Open 7 days, 10 - 4pm. Exhibition runs until October 22nd |
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