Pacific Series III, 2022. Ink and natural pigment on archival paper. 56 × 76 cm (unframed).
Lot 005 · Works on Paper
Pacific Series III
Mere Tūhoe
Year
2022
Medium
Ink and natural pigment on archival paper
Dimensions
56 × 76 cm (unframed)
Estimate
NZD 4,200–6,000
The third work in a series of seven, Pacific Series III was made during a residency on Waiheke Island in the winter of 2022. The composition is built from a vocabulary of marks that recur throughout Tūhoe's practice — forms derived from tā moko, from the patterns of woven kete, and from the movement of water. The natural pigments, ground by the artist from ochre, charcoal and haematite, give the surface a depth and warmth that synthetic materials cannot replicate. The work is presented unframed, as the artist intends, so that the edges of the paper — deckled and slightly irregular — remain visible.
Artist
Mere Tūhoe
Mere Tūhoe (b. 1991, Rotorua) is a Māori artist of Ngāti Tūhoe descent whose practice draws on the visual languages of both her iwi and the broader Pacific. Working primarily on paper with ink, natural pigments and found materials, she creates works that operate simultaneously as abstract compositions and as repositories of cultural knowledge. Tūhoe completed her MFA at Elam School of Fine Arts in 2016 and has since exhibited in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. She was the recipient of the Creative New Zealand Toi Hou Award in 2022.