
Untitled (study of a reclining nude woman)
Shona Rapira Davies
Unknown

- Shona Rapira Davies
- b.
- 1951
- Title:
- Untitled (study of a reclining nude woman)
- Production date:
- Unknown
- Accession No:
- 87/6/2
- Measurements:
- Support: 558 x 760mm
- Media:
- Pencil on paper
Collection Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
This work is from a series of preliminary drawings for a performance / sculptural installation at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in May 1987 entitled 'Ma te wahine ka tapu ai to hanga nei, te tangata, ma te whenua kawhai oranga ai / Woman found raped, wrapped in a threadbare cloak'. Ceramic tiles were laid on a bed of sand on the Gallery floor. During the performance the figure of a woman was sculpted in clay, then framed with manuka sticks to indicate tapu. Davies' work is characterised by strongly political content and a passionate content and a passionate exploration of the role of Maori women in contemporary New Zealand art and culture.