The buildings notice me
13 July 2024 - 22 September 2024
Megan Brady, Doreen Blumhardt, Brook Konia, John Harris & Steven Junil Park, Roy Cowan, Mataaho Collective, Jim Murphy
Curated by Sophie Thorn
Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery
Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington
Aotearoa NZ
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To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Installation view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Detail view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.To remove threads from fine European linen is for artist Megan Brady a way of un-weaving colonial constructs. Her pattern is created through letting light in, a subtraction rather than an addition. The title of her work is a reflection on a philosophy of working with rather than against and the importance of Māori being included in decision making in our current political climate. More personally it stems from a memory of walking along blustery coastlines as a child, or in her own words:
On these walks I remember having my breath taken away, simultaneously by strong winds and steep walking track staircases. This is a significant memory of mine that I associate with empowerment. It is also my earliest memory of thinking about how natural patterns and human built interventions overlap.
To learn, by leaning into the wind began as to an invitation to create a new work for the architectural feature between our Upper and Lower Chartwell gallery spaces which we refer to as ‘the void’. The name of this space immediately prompted Brady to think about Te Kore, a state of chaos with abundant possibility, a space for growth, creativity and learning. From the nothingness of Te Kore comes both the darkness Te Pō and the light Te Ao Mārama.
The invitation to work with this space sparked for Brady a return to ideas of intimacy within public space. She reflected that the thing we have in common with built environments is the air we breathe. In To learn, by leaning into the wind she has drawn on a recurring pattern that depicts a steady, rhythmic breath called Eupnea. Using a technique of pulling threads this steady pattern undulates across the fabric drops which hang from repurposed heart rimu flooring. The three wooden structures which make up the work rise and fall in reference to the original Culliford Stairwell which makes up the spine of our building. Resting at either end of the work are two stones. Of personal significance to the artist these stones sit in acknowledgement of the whatukura obtained by Tāne with the baskets of knowledge and the mauri held within stones.
Exhibition text by Sophie Thorn, Manutaki | Acting Director
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Details The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024.. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Installation view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Installation view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Detail view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Detail view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Installation view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Detail view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Installation view The buildings notice me and Duncan Winder: architectural photographs (curated by Sebastian Clarke) Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
To learn, by leaning into the wind. 2024. Heart rimu, thread pulled linen, stone. Detail view The buildings notice me, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2024. Photo credit Ted Whitaker.
The sound of my breath
makes me feel bigger than I
often remember
But, I have always known
how it feels to be alive
when climbing something steep
And
I have always known
how to learn
by leaning into the wind.
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