The domestic scene is the place where we are ourselves.
We can let our public façade slide and finally relax on the couch (or tend to the demands of children). It is a rich playground for the visual arts.
There are few New Zealand artists with such a sense of play as Judy Darragh, whose show, Competitive Plastics, fills Objectspace (13 Rose Road, Ponsonby) with the colourful noise of this ubiquitous material.
From stacks of costume heels and fishnets stuffed with shiny objects to children’s chairs pierced by funnels, Judy both celebrates and questions our magpie obsession with this modern substance. There’s no denying the attractive qualities of toys, ornaments, and everyday objects that glisten and sparkle, simultaneously filling our world with junk that will last forever.
All four exhibitions at Studio One Toi Tu (1 Ponsonby Road) also bring strands of the domestic to our attention. The bright LED sculptures of Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole honour their tupuna, whose forms dance in brilliant neon colours.
Rachel Kiddie McClure sews and weaves symbols and sayings of the everyday (“I don’t want to do the housework, so I won’t”) into quilts and embroideries, and luscious soft sculptures. Ceramics are treated with a playfulness by Devyani Sethi, while Nga Rangatahi Toa shows us the close community response to lockdown for their rangatahi on the East Coast.
At night, we can glaze into the window project space at Studio One Toi Tu, as local artist Deborah Crowe fantasises about the urban environment we might have, through an eleven minute animated projection.
This artwork collages images of our neighbourhood - backstreets off Karangahape Road, views from her home near Myers Park, and architectural reflections around the South end of Ponsonby Road where Deborah Crowe has worked in her studio for over 12 years.
On a cool winter’s evening, it feels lush and inviting, and a little like the beckoning home of the living room. (EVAN WOODRUFFE/STUDIO ART SUPPLIES)
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