Deep Material Energy II

Deep Material Energy II is a collaborative project developed with four artists from Australia and four artists from Aotearoa, curated by Heather Galbraith, Professor of Fine Arts, College of Creative Arts Toi Rauwhārangi. Within this geographic and cultural context, the artists contemplate their art practices in relation to their respective countries.

Bringing together a suite of practices involving a deep and holistic engagement with materiality, the exhibition also considers the nature of contemporary jewellery, body adornment and objects, realised through the processes of making, shaping and transforming materials.

A prominent thread connecting the visually diverse works is a shared fascination with found and recycled materials (including those from city streets, the beach, op shops, scrap metal merchants, and the rural landscape). The artists interrogate the physical, historical, political, cultural and intangible resonances of the materials they use.

Each artist employs slow hand-crafting as a way of thinking through the process of making and to meticulously unleash the potential of the materials they use.
Aotearoa makers: Kelly McDonald l Victoria McIntosh l Neke Moa l Rowan Panther
Australian makers: Cara Johnson l Inari Kiuru l Claire McArdle l Lisa Waup

Deep Material Energy II is presented by Australian Design Centre and supported by Creative New Zealand and Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Exhibition dates: 5 October–22 November 2023

Images: Kelly McDonald, A curious story told in several parts: Chapter 2, 2023. Photo: courtesy the artist
Inari Kiuru, Eye, the beholder (detail) 2023. Photo: John-Paul Pochin, through The Suter Art Gallery, Nelson.