Reserve

Contemporary: Joe Sheehan

Reserve transforms internationally sourced and New Zealand jade (known locally as pounamu, or greenstone) into pristine replicas of the standardised ingots that fill a nation’s gold reserve.

The work is a political statement about the value placed on pounamu as a commodity, rather than a material of cultural importance. It also comments on the Crown’s historical failure to set aside reserves of land for Ngāi Tahu, in whose tribal area pounamu is found.

Joe Sheehan trained in the family stone-carving business. In his own practice, he delights in subverting expectations; he has carved pounamu copies of audio cassettes, light bulbs, and ballpoint pens.