Collage, composting and whenua ties in grad art show

Multi-layered collage, eggs on suspended spoons and abstract visions echoing tūpuna histories of local whenua are among artworks on show at WITT this week.

The Grad Show 2024 showcases diverse, original work by the first cohort to graduate with a Bachelor of Design and Art (Level 7). It includes work by Sophie Barron, Sarah Bishop, Loux McLellan, Renee RC [Ross-Cranson], Micheal Stone and Vallance Wrathall.

For mixed media artist Sophie Barron, the bachelor’s degree compelled her to explore her preferred medium of collage and to incorporate printmaking and illustration, as well as experiment with printmaking.

She says her series of prints, alongside her collages, capture an “untangling of ideas around identity, power and vulnerability.”

“A key thread in my work is a recurring figure – an exaggerated masculine persona who embodies both confidence and insecurity. He’s a version of me, but also a critique of the ways society asks us to perform power,” says her artist’s statement.

She likes collage why? “It’s the way my brain works – having a jumble of resources and putting it together like a puzzle, trying different pieces to see what fits. My favourite part is when everything is so chaotic and jumbled and you put one piece in, and it just clicks into place. It’s so satisfying!”

Developing professional practices as well as artistic technique has been a game-changer. “There are so many ways to be and artist and to make art, but it’s hard to be a professional artist – to take that leap into how to install work, how to write an artist statement or a CV, approach galleries.”

Learning these practical skills has helped her to prepare for and to feel confident in taking next steps beyond finishing her degree.

For an internship and work placement paper, she taught art at Inglewood High school where she had studied art to year 13. She likes the idea of teaching and hosting workshops and in collage and printmaking and is passionate about cultivating creativity in others.

Sophie, 25, also wants to apply her newly minted knowledge to fostering a stronger arts community among younger, emerging artists of her generation by finding shared spaces for new artists to collaborate, create and show their art, and run workshops.

Caption: Sophie Barron with her collage series

Paper choice

For Renee, “constant composting” is how she describes her process – her art is infused with her environmental values.

Making paper is her regular morning ritual, one she loves. She rips up previous work and blends it with shower water, pours the mixture into a tub then uses two old photo frames with garden mesh to create sheets of paper, which she dries in the sun.

She enjoys the fun and physicality of it, as well as the fact it’s more economical than continually buying paper which aligns with her ethics around not wasting materials.

Renee was inspired while at her previous job managing New Plymouth’s Trade Aid store. “Seeing the craft and the amazing work people can do with their hands really inspired me, even though I was more interested in learning about tattoo at the time.”

Her work is themed around grid drawings of squares and webs that embody the paradox of archival and temporal elements of art. A large wall of fine-lined grid and spiderweb drawings is a work in progress on display that she began in February.

“I prefer to focus on process rather than medium…Spider-like in my attempt to capture moments. Webs are fragile, yet spider silk is strong, similar to pencil drawing, plastic paints, paper, wood, trees, bark. And life,” she says.

She’s valued being part of this year’s group for the support, feedback and sharing of ideas.  “We all share the same seriousness about making art – we’re all fairly driven and it’s nice to see that in each other and to bounce off each other.”

 Whenua histories captured on canvas

Vallance Wrathall (pictured) - Te Ātiawa, Ngā Ruahine, Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāi Tahu – is showing large paintings based on the whenua of Puketapu hapu, in and around Bell Block.

Vallance, who was featured in WITT story earlier this year about his work, visited and photographed the sites “to get a feel of the place - and that’s where the art grew from.”

His paintings are visual maps of the history and his spiritual connections to whenua, which he researched to discover hidden Māori narratives.

Doing research has helped him evolve as an artist and has “filled my kete”, he says, providing him with more ideas and material to draw on.

He’s off to pursue the next phase of his career in Melbourne in mid-December, attracted by the city’s famous creative vibe. He also has whānau there.

Ged Guy, director of Creative Technologies at WITT, says the ‘step up’ in the standard of work is very apparent in this Level 7 Grad Show.

“These students have been on a massive creative journey and tutors wish each of them every success as they venture out into new territories.”

The 2024 student Graduate art show finishes this Friday.

Caption: Art graduate Renee RC with her grid drawing in the show