The Zonta Ashburton Female Art Award was the reason I’d been keen for a trip to Ashburton. This award supports emerging and mid-career female artists in Canterbury, and the exhibition of the finalists is on display at the Ashburton Art Gallery until April 24th.
The array of works was impressive. Here are some that particularly struck me:
Art Chemist by Audrey Baldwin is an interactive installation and performance which connects people in a playful yet earnest therapeutic environment. Audrey is a Christchurch artist, whose performances I’ve enjoyed in the past . Art Chemist was installed in Cathedral Junction last year, but I didn’t manage to see it then. I’m delighted to report that Audrey won the Premier Award at this exhibition, which means she will have a solo exhibition at the Gallery next year.
Veil of Invisibility by Coral Broughton speaks of how older women tend to be overlooked. Coral says “The process of aging can be seen as an opportunity for re-definition where aging is seen as a desirable condition which allows freedom to live outside the gaze.”
Boys Will be Boys by Alice Jones makes a strong statement about women’s experience of intimate partner violence.
Monobloc is by Jorja Shadbolt, one of the young generation finalists. It is a disturbing image which portrays her feelings of worthlessness after the end of a relationship.
COVID ashes by Jenny Wilson was the piece that most appealed to me and I gave it my vote in the People’s Choice ballot. The ceramic moths are Jenny’s response to COVID-19 TV images of rows of bodies, funeral pyres, and suffering beyond our comprehension.
Jenny says: “I make the moths from soft white clay printed with vintage lace, and fire them first in an electric kiln. Each one is then carefully wrapped in a paper parcel with copper wire, seaweed, sawdust, and eggshells. I fire one moth at a time in my home log-burner, cocooned within a tin-can saggar (protective box). Each night I light a fire, and each morning I uncover a moth from the ashes. It is a meditation of sorts.
*******
We also went to the Ashburton Salvation Army Family Store, where a large mass-produced picture of a flamingo caught my eye. Stephen offered to buy it for me, so it came home with us, and is now hanging on the lounge wall. It may look a little tacky, but it’s pink, and fun, and that’s what I need in this time of Pandemic, War in Ukraine, and Climate Crisis.
So many artworks to be seen
including this Flamingo Queen
Ruth's Reflections 
Coral Broughton’s definition on aging for women is spot on in regards to how I feel about it. I love the flamingo, too. I think it’s good that you were able to blow on past the ‘snobbery’ factor of it not being an exclusive artwork.
LikeLike
Thanks for your comment Katrina. It’s good to get support for my ‘artistic’ choice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a fascinating exhibition with many aspects of women’s experience. That’s a flamboyant flamingo which, I can imagine, will inspire your creativity and make you smile.
LikeLike
I was very pleased to have seen the exhibition, and I do smile whenever I see the flamingo.
LikeLike