Jade Townsend: From the Lion’s Mouth / 21 February – 31 May 2026

Jade Townsend. ‘Rotokawau’ 2025. Acrylic on linen with hand carved Sapele frame.

Jade Townsend: From the Lion’s Mouth

21 February – 31 May 2026

Jade Townsend (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi) will be exhibiting a series of new paintings that recall her time here in Whanganui as the artist for the Tylee Cottage residency in February 2024. The exhibition is influenced by whanau-orientated narratives and stories from sites of significance that have assisted Whanganui in winning prestigious awards such as Most Beautiful Small City or UNESCO City of Design. Townsend diverts these histories through the compelling prism of painting, offering up new kōrero for consideration.

Townsend describes her work: “Water is the binding thread throughout the series — the awa, the wishing well, Rotokawau Virginia Lake, the Higginbottom Fountain. The surfaces shimmer with iridescence, inspired by my nana’s diamond paintings, in which tiny mosaic-like resin stones are intricately arranged on a canvas. A similar treatment, achieved through acrylic paint, transforms a palm tree, a bridge, and other common Whanganui motifs into glistening water features capable of holding memory and replenishing it. Lines and letters recall my dad’s hand as a sign-writer — precise and direct. Embellishment, in all its forms, reveals itself as whakapapa, a family vernacular for mythology-making.”

Jade Townsend is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, and writer. Born and raised in Whanganui, she moved to Liverpool (UK) and studied overseas. Townsend holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in painting from Manchester Metropolitan University and has undertaken residencies at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, Artspace Aotearoa and Objectspace in Tāmaki Makaurau, and Tylee Cottage in Whanganui.

Cecelia Kumeroa

Curator