Monday 25 February 2019 11:32pm
The 2018 Frances Hodgkins Fellow, Louise Menzies, speaks at the opening of her exhibition In an orange my mother was eating at the Hocken this month. Photos: Graham Warman.
Artistic freedom, and the opportunity to explore all the Hocken has to offer, has resulted in another engaging Frances Hodgkins Fellow exhibition.
Louise Menzies’ take on historical figures of Dunedin’s art world, In an orange my mother was eating, is on display at Hocken Collections, Uare Taoka o Hākena, until March 30.
Hocken Librarian Sharon Dell speaks to guests during the opening.
About 100 people attended the opening last week and took in what Robyn Notman, Hocken Head Curator, called a “colourful and dynamic” display of the contemporary artist’s work.
Menzies is interested in things as they are in the world. Her delicate appreciation for what already exists materialised as a series of distinct works during her year as the University of Otago’s 2018 Frances Hodgkins Fellow, and her subsequent engagement with the Hocken Collections.
Guests, including Dunedin Public Art Gallery Curator Lucy Hammonds, take a look at the exhibition.
The playful exhibition title, In an orange my mother was eating, forms the opening line of Where was I born?, a poem published by Joanna Margaret Paul in 1981. As two children recount to Paul where they might have come from (in a mirror; hot fire; in the cake tin; in the earth; in my bones), we are reminded of all the objects — and images of objects — around us that form our unique experiences of life.
“The artist has based her exhibition around historical figures in Dunedin’s rich and diverse art world – Frances Hodgkins and Joanna Margaret Paul. During her time as Fellow, she has delved deep into the Hocken’s collection and much of what she has found relating to these artists features in the exhibition,” Ms Notman says.
Groups explore the works.
Chloe Geoghegan, Hocken Curator Art, says the Fellowship, established by the University of Otago Council in 1962, was intended to encourage artists in the practice and advancement of their art by providing them with a studio and a year’s stipend.
Named after one of New Zealand’s most distinguished painters, Dunedin-born Frances Hodgkins, it aims to encourage painters, sculptors and multi-media artists, while at the same time associating them with University life and fostering an interest in the Arts within the institution.
“As 2019 marks 150 years since the birth of Frances Hodgkins and 150 years since the foundation of the University, the Hocken will be hosting two Fellows exhibitions over the course of the year, with 2019 Frances Hodgkins Fellow Imogen Taylor’s exhibition scheduled for November.
Notable guests at the opening included the MP for Dunedin North, David Clark.
“Heather Straka, 2008 Fellow, will also be returning to Dunedin to work with Robyn Notman on A Garden of Earthly Delights, an installation-style exhibition drawing together items from various special collections at the University,” she says.
Join Hocken Curator Art Chloe Geoghegan for a Curator’s Talk to mark the closing of the exhibition, at 3pm on Saturday 30 March.