Reserves
I made this work in 1992 for an exhibition called 'Reserves' which was shown at Te Manawa in that year.
It focused on two reserves one not far from where we were living at the time in Whanganui called the Bason Reserve and the other in the Tongariro National Park - the Te Porere redoubt.
Te Porere was built in 1869 by Te Kooti where opposing Te Arawa, Ngati Kahungunu, Pakeha and Whanganui military contingents assembled to fight what was to become known as the last battle of the land wars of the 1860s.
I wanted to combine two quite different sites one a defence structure and one an area for relaxation and enjoyment which had been kindly gifted by Stanley and Blanche Bason to the community of Whanganui.
To do this I used a painting borrowed from Abraham Mignon of a flower arrangement and collages from many photographs taken at the sites as well as other borrowed images. The formal design of a knot garden seemed to be a perfect way to show the colour and display of a recreational garden against the plan of the redoubt which was designed for defence and became both a battle and a grave site containing the remains of warriors.
Such a tragic historical event needed to be treated with great care and respect, paintings of warriors - both men and women - who fought at Te Porere can be seen in the Whanganui Museum.
The exhibition was also shown there in 1993 as part of Suffrage Year, it was 100 years since women achieved the vote in New Zealand on 19 September 1893.
'Still Life'
Me working on 'Still Life'
'Te Porere Tre-foy'
'Venetian Flowers'
All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017
