MY CHOICE: Nicole Gaffney / July 2022
July 2022: Nicole Gaffney
Each month a member of our community is invited to browse our online collection and select six of their favourite artworks. Each My Choice selection, together with personal responses to the works, will be available to view on the Sarjeant Gallery website for one month at a time. The July 2022 My Choice has been selected by Nicole Gaffney and is available to view until 31 July, 2022.
Nicole Gaffney is a musician, teacher, artist and youth programme coordinator who has recently moved to Whanganui from Auckland. With a background in the visual arts, her passion lies in the Girls Rock and To the Front programmes, which she co-founded in Aotearoa in 2017. Girls Rock is a global initiative of programmes for young women, trans, intersex and gender diverse youth where music and creative expression is the medium to build confidence, empowerment and foster social change. As a musician, she has released two albums and toured extensively around the world in her band carb on carb.
See Nicole’s selections on our Explore the Collection ‘My Choice Exhibition Series’ highlight here
Debra Bustin, Untitled Installation 1984, 1984, 1985/20/1
“My process in selecting these works was very much what caught my eye the most when scrolling through the large collection on the Sarjeant website. I made a shortlist first and then realised that the majority of the artworks I’d chosen were from the 70s and 80s. This installation caught my eye the most, I’ve never seen Debra Bustin’s work before. I love the chaos.”
Gretchen Albrecht, Sundial, 1980, 1982/12/1
“The first time I saw Gretchen Albrecht’s artwork was in my year 11 high school art class. I hated it, but I hated most artworks that were presented to me by my teachers. Delving into the online collection on the Sarjeant website is the first time I’ve seen her work pre-1980s and now I love her work. This print reminds me of the Auckland I’ve only seen in 80s magazines. Tan leather car seats, sailing, white tennis shoes, restaurants called “mode” or something like that.”
Richard Killeen, Of Mind and Gravity, 1982, 1983/30/2A-O
“I’ve always loved Richard Killeen’s work since I saw his wacky lil shapes at the Auckland Art Gallery on a school trip. My paintings and sculptures I made while studying Visual Arts at Massey and AUT were heavily influenced by him, producing a variety of shapes cut out from wood and cardboard. It’s cool that he first exhibited this work as a performance and got the audience to arrange the elements themselves.”
Matt Pine, Colourwork ’72, 1972, L2006/2/1
“I love the simplicity of this installation in its use of materials and colour. And the way the curved clear perspex reflects the colours and shapes as well as the artworks behind it. This reminds me of the art I was trying to make at uni.”
Joanna Margaret Paul, Inventories [Bedroom], 1977, 1981/11/1.4
“The first show I went to after moving here was Annie Mackenzie’s genuine article exhibition featuring work by Edith Collier, Joanna Margaret Paul, and the Whanganui Woollen Mills. This exhibition was incredible, how it showcased wool, textiles, paintings and babes wearing plaid and holding guns. Inventories [Bedroom] by Joanna Margaret Paul reminds me of going to my partner’s family bach in Rotorua with way too many blankets on the bed that suffocate you with dust mites and too tightly tucked hospital corners.”
Ans Westra, Patea, 1995, 1996/3/118
“I recently spent some time at Patea Area School as part of the NZ Music Commission music mentoring programme. I had only been through Patea once before and otherwise all I knew about the town was from the documentary on Poi E. Meeting the amazingly creative youth that I mentored at Patea Area School gave me a little perspective on the creative communities that can exist in smaller towns in Aotearoa. I picked this image because when I moved to Whanganui a couple months ago, I wasn’t sure of where to find my community but as I’ve started attending the Sarjeant Gallery exhibition openings, I’ve met a bunch of amazing people. I wasn’t that familiar with Ans Westra’s photography before moving, but I saw her at one of the openings taking photos which was cool.”
Category
Past Exhibitions 2022
