Five Wanganui Artists: Littoral Drift

Five Whanganui artists encounter the South Taranaki Coast

The wild drama of the south Taranaki, Whanganui coast line is expressed through the local name, Te Tai Hau a Uru (literally, the windy west coast).

Littoral Drift is an exhibition of works by six locally based artists:
Jen Dickie, Deb Frederikse, Sue James, Fiona McGowan, and Felicity Priest, who all draw inspiration from the distinctive physical features of this coastline.

The Littoral Zone:
“that area of a shore line that is in juxtaposition to a body of water, more specifically the area between high and low water spring tide marks.” *

Littoral Drift indicates the processes of coastal formation, its destruction and the unceasing change brought about by the action of rock, wind and tide. The works contain information gathered during walks to Waverley Cove, the Waitotara and Whanganui estuaries and Turakina Beach.

Each artist approaches the subject through a personal lens of interest. Drift, here, implies the movement of the artists through the landscape. These works then, are interpretations of aspects of this coastal region, which become suggestive of emotion and meaning.

* The Dictionary of Physical Geography