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Overview
Tanya Ashken carved this kauri sculpture in 1965, shortly after she moved to Aotearoa from the UK. The work's curved form responds to the shapes and movements of a kōtuku (white heron).
In the 1960s, Ashken was influenced by Romanian artist Constantin Brâncuși, whose simple, abstracted sculptures often suggest movement, energy, or flight. Here, Ashken has adapted those ideas to create a work that is strongly connected with her own natural environment.
Tanya Ashken was born in London in 1939. She began silversmithing at the age of 13, before studying sculpture in London and Paris. In 1963, Ashken moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington with her husband, the New Zealand artist John Drawbridge. Over the past 60 years, she has produced a remarkable body of work as a sculptor, silversmith, and jeweller.