Columns, Curtains, Columns
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Ruth Buchanan
Te Atiawa, Māori
Taranaki, Māori
Title
Columns, Curtains, Columns
Details
| Production Date | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Collection(s) | Govett-Brewster Art Gallery collection. Purchased with support from the Govett-Brewster Foundation, Mossman Gallery, Jim and Mary Barr, Jennifer and Ken Horner, and Jenny and Andrew Smith. |
| Accession Number | 2020/5 |
| Media | Hand latch-hooked rug, custom perforated steel frame |
| Measurements | 870 x 680mm |
About
Ka ara mai tētehi āhua māwhero mai i te pūtake o tēnei whāriki, hei whakamaumahara ki ngā āhua o te tinana e kitea ana i roto i ngā tānga a te ringatoi i runga i ngā pātū. Ka kitea i konei, i roto i hāna mahi katoa hoki, tā Buchanan tō mai i ngā āhuatanga tē kitea i ngā whakairotanga whakaaturanga - ngā pātū māwehe, ngā pūnaga whakairi me ngā whāriki - waihoki ko ngā mahi whakapeto ngoi auaha ā te hunga wāhine. Mā reira takoto ai te mānuka i a Buchanan kia whai whakaaro tātou ki ngā pēhitanga papori e pā ana ki tā tātou noni, ki tā tātou whakatere me tō tātou mōhio ki a tātou anō.
Ka hua mai ko Columns, Curtains, Columns i te rangahau a te ringatoi i ngā ārai i whaturia e Isle von Randow i te tau 1958 mō te papa tāreitanga hōu o te whare whakairi toi o Tāmaki-Makau-Rau. I tūmanakotia mā ngā ārai a Von Randow te wāhi rangirua e panoni ki tētehi wāhi e whakahau ana i ngā wheako whakaari ora mā te hautū i ngā pānuitanga ruri, i ngā whakawai piana me tētehi takiwā pānui hoki.
—
A fleshy pink form rises from the base of this rug, recalling the bodily form seen in the artist’s wall paintings, also on display. Here, as with elsewhere in her work, Buchanan draws upon often invisible elements of exhibition design—room dividers, hanging systems, and carpets—as well as forms of creative labour often associated with women. In doing so, Buchanan asks us to consider the social forces that structure how we inhabit, navigate and come to know ourselves.
Columns, Curtains, Columns draws upon the artist’s research into a set of woven curtains made by Ilse von Randow in 1958 for the Auckland Art Gallery’s newly built sculpture court. Von Randow’s curtains would, it was hoped, transform a solemn place of contemplation, into a space intended to enable more performative and ‘lived’ experiences through the hosting of poetry readings, piano recitals and a reading room.
— Text developed for Te Hau Whakatonu: A Series of Never-ending Beginnings (5 August 2023–11 February 2024), curated by Taarati Taiaroa
