An exciting pair of vibrant spring exhibitions touching on familial connection, whakapapa and storytelling.  

In time for the spring season, Corban Estate Arts Centre presents a pair of exhibitions in the Homestead Galleries that explore connections to landscape and the garden space. Opening on Friday 4 November at 6pm are Mā te horo nuku ka tūrangawaewae ai koe, To stand in place of the landscape, a solo exhibition by Perth-based artist Dr Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge; and Her heirlooms in my garden, a group exhibition featuring works by Quishile Charan, Cora-Allan, Debbie Harris, Hollie Ryan, Ashleigh Taupaki and Molly Timmins.  

Between the exhibitions is an exploration of deeply personal subject matter through an array of mediums including painting, textile techniques, ceramics, Hiapo and beading. The sensibility of both exhibitions is one of familial connection, whakapapa and storytelling, portrayed through contemporary arts practice.  

Mansbridge’s solo exhibition is the artist’s first significant show in Aotearoa New Zealand, travelling all the way from Fremantle in Perth where she has lived for the past 40 years.  Through a collection of intuitive landscape paintings, she explores her connection to whenua as intertwined with her own whakapapa presenting abstract interpretations of the land that she calls home in both Aotearoa and Australia. In her new body of work, Dr Mansbridge reframes tropes from classical Western painting genres that she reclaims for deeply personal storytelling, creating assemblages of place and home. She does so by employing a suite of found ornate frames, into which she incorporates her exuberant colours and layered compositions that are brought together with a meaningful iconography personal to her lived experience. Through painting, Mansbridge explores how whenua assumes an awareness of belonging for Māori in spirituality and identity, from near and afar. 

Her heirlooms in my garden is a group exhibition curated by Madeleine Gifford that includes works by a group of contemporary artists who explore gardens specifically as spaces for maternal connection and the sharing of intergenerational knowledge with their Mothers, Aunts, Nanas and Grandmothers. Through embroidery, textiles, ceramics, illustration, Hiapo and beading, the artists in this exhibition tenderly share their personal experiences as the recipients of the flowers and precious heirlooms cultivated within the garden. The exhibition explores the idea that gardens cultivate connection. They are sites dedicated to the growth of flowers, fruit, plants and often, spaces created and maintained through hours of physical labour and love. They provide not only produce that is shared amongst families and close communities but also hold enjoyment and treasured memories for those who frequent them. 

Her heirlooms in my garden features new site-specific works by Debbie Harris, Hollie Ryan, Ashleigh Taupaki and Cora-Allan, including a new outdoor sculpture by Cora-Allan dedicated to the artist’s Nana that will remain outside the Homestead Galleries for six months. Each of the artists are emerging and mid-career artists based in Aotearoa, each contributing a unique and tender take on the exhibition’s theme.    

Alongside the exhibitions is a programme of free gallery events and activities open for the public to attend. There is a rare opportunity to hear Dr Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge speak about her work in Aotearoa during an Artist Kōrero with Curator Madeleine Gifford on Saturday 05 November. There is also a Curator’s Tour of Her heirlooms in my garden with Gifford, where attendees will gain a special insight into the exhibition and will take away a seedling to plant in their own garden.  There are two Saturday Gallery Club weekend art activities for children and whanau to engage with each of the exhibitions by taking part in inspired workshops; Gilded Gold Assemblages scheduled on Saturday 12 November; and Petite Pot Painting on Saturday 10 December, as well as a Gallery Bubs morning on Monday 14 November where parents and caregivers will be able to bring along their under-twos for a baby-friendly tour of both exhibitions.  

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