item details
NameFluttering and settling
ProductionChristine Hellyar; maker/artist; 1991; New Zealand
Classificationceramics, site-specific works, studio ceramics
Materialsceramic
Materials Summarywhite earthenware, staining, casting from moulds, copper electro-plating
Techniquesfiring
Registration Number1996-0033-22/AA to FH
Credit lineCommissioned 1991, in partnership with Expo NZ 1992 Ltd and the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand
Overview
“For years my work has embraced a broad theme that the earth is a body, that plants of all kinds are its hair and skin.
“Sending my ‘plants’ to other cultures is a process akin to skin grafting. All of the forms in this installation are flowers. They are also from plants that are/were useful to the Māori and European settlers. They represent the nīkau and kiekie vegetation and the winged and worm-like creatures of the forest.
“Along with the New Zealand native plants that are now flourishing in Northern Hemisphere gardens, I hope my installation becomes part of the Southern Hemisphere cloak of warming and protection.
– Treasures of the Underworld catalogue. World Expo, Seville, Spain. 12 April – 20 October 1992.