Objects She Used
Fish - Represents the growing economy.
Double Koru - I think that the double koru represents two cultures joining/growing together. This can be seen in New Zealand with the western culture dominating the Maori culture that was here first.
Rectangle Drawings - The rectangle drawings can be a visual representation of how there are two cultures in one area. For example, the bigger rectangle can be the Pakeha community and inside that is the Maori community. This may be because Pakeha over-threw the Maori.
Maunga/Triangles - The maunga or the triangle drawings represent the mountains. This is important for knowing where you come from and what you associate with, hence it is included on a mihi.
Wavey Lines - The wavey lines represent the waves or the sea, which is an important part of life since it provides us with water and helps the land and food grow.
Cave Art - The cave art relates to the old cave art the Maori used to do. This itself is a good representation of the Maori culture.
How She Uses Space
Tracey Tawhiao lays her art out in a grid format. She doesn't cover every inch of the newspaper, instead, leaves some space around the edges of the artwork and between each grid to maintain the significance of the newspaper usage in her artworks. Also, she has purposefully left words visible from the newspaper. This adds to the meaning that she is trying to portray. The texts she leaves untouched are 'It's what they didn't say that told the story.' at the top right side and 'ownership' near the bottom right (part of the rectangle drawing). The bottom drawings - the three on the lower half - seem pretty busy and don't have much negative space, but the remaining drawings in the upper half (the remaining three) are pretty plain with a clear subject matter and have lots of negative space in the background available. I think that this balances the artwork and she's made good usage of the space.
Colours She Used
The main colours in this artwork are green, grey, and blue. There is also the newspaper medium underneath the art which has a yellowish tone. These colours give the artwork a dull feel; not intending to be joyful nor cheery. This may be because the message she is trying to portray is not a happy one.
Kia Ora Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThis is good work, especially your analysis of the composition and identification of the symbols in the work. Do you think the green colour could suggest land and water? And the grid perhaps the way the land was carved up into sections when it was sold/taken? The grid is highly symbolic and an introduced organizing device. That is, it came with the colonizers. Keep up the good work.