Morag Stokes: kNot Pasifika

This exhibition of new works by Morag Stokes sits on the boundaries of Celtic and Pacific Island/Maori art traditions. It is a fusion of cultures – the art of the immigrant. Originally from Scotland, Morag has lived in NZ for the past ten years. She has brought to this show the knot traditions of her Celtic heritage together with the motifs of Aotearoa and the Pacific Islands.

The Tiki image can be discerned from knot work in a series of paintings which play with the tensions between imagery and ambiguity, a concern of the pre-Christian Celts. There are tapa-inspired panels in which hints of plaid sit alongside woven and knotted skins of paint. The four-petalled flower and its Celtic parallel are married in woven paint. Morag’s distinctive ‘drag’ painting process defines these works, with some being painted directly onto canvas and others being formed from paint bands created on glass.

Closing celebration and artist talk is at 1pm Sunday 20th February.