Kainoho

This work was created in 2020, in response to my personal feelings of connection to the region of Hawke’s Bay.

‘Kainoho’ means ‘inhabitant, dweller, occupier’ – and as a relatively new immigrant to New Zealand of just 22 years, I felt this was a fitting title. While not disregarding New Zealand’s contentious history of colonisation, it alludes to an internal sense of place that develops over time, and the interconnectivity of the people.

The notions of time passing, and layers of history encased in the landscape of Hawke’s Bay intrigue me. My own technique of layering when creating prints and drawings, allowing previous work to show through to the upper layer is a reflection on the palimpsest that occurs in the landscape, within our language and our DNA. Our connections can be viewed as threads, holding us in a place that we call ‘home’.

The gridded composition is an ordered construction, allowing each snippet of an image to belong and take its place, very much like the layout of an Instagram page. It’s a record of memory, of moments in time, of a personal connection in the chaos.

The work consists of 112 prints and drawings, at 45mm square, 8 across x 14 high, adhered and sewn with cross-stitch to Fabriano printmaking paper in a grid formation, 5mm apart.