Hutton and Cotton: The McGregor Museum Revisited

Hutton and Cotton is an installation that investigates taxonomies and threatened species with references to The University of Auckland’s own museum history. Artist Christine Hellyar makes use of the chaos and order of the partly demolished McGregor Museum in the School of Biological Sciences. Her work considers the divisions of animal, vegetable and mineral, and combines the history of museums and the history of art. The names in the title refer to Hutton, the 19th Century author of the first reference book on New Zealand native animals, and Cotton, the 20th century geomorphologist who had a great influence on painter Colin McCahon.

Hellyar has held a life-long love for private and public museums. Many of her works explore our relationships with objects and collections, particularly how they are kept, valued and displayed. The McGregor Museum’s collections were started in 1884, and in 1939 moved into purpose-built spaces in the Old Biology Building on Symonds Street, designed by Roy Lippincott.

Public events:
Saturday 21 January
Artists in Conversation
1pm: Christine Hellyar talks about her Hutton and Cotton project with fellow artist Andrea du Chatenier.
2pm: Reuben Paterson discusses his exhibition Bottled Lightning with artist Lonnie Hutchinson.

Saturday 28 January, 1pm
A screening of Reuben Paterson’s New Artland episode There Goes the Moon (2009), which documents the creation of a specially commissioned large-scale artwork. Presented courtesy Fat Productions and TVNZ7.

Saturday 4 February, 1pm
The Gallery will be closed for Waitangi weekend.

Saturday 11 February, 1pm
NICAI Deputy Dean, Peter Shand, looks at the legacy of fabric design and fashion in the work of Reuben Paterson, including his collaborations with World.

Saturday 18 February, 1pm
In response to Christine Hellyar’s exhibition about the McGregor Museum, Stephanie McKenzie reports on The University of Auckland’s new project looking at its ‘hidden’ cultural collections, ranging from antique computers to geological specimens.

Saturday 25 February, 1pm
Jonathan Mane-Wheoki considers Reuben Paterson’s place in Elam School of Fine Arts’ whakapapa of contemporary Maori artists. Jonathan is Professor of Fine Arts and Head of School at Elam and this talk features as part of Elam’s Graduate Jubilee Year.

Saturday 3 March, 1pm
Curator Mary Sewell talks about the origins of the McGregor Museum as a teaching collection and highlights particular items of interest.

All exhibitions and events are free and take place at the Gus Fisher Gallery unless otherwise noted.

Event listed by gusfishergallery

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