Play 5.0 now open at He Waka Tuia in Invercargill
This year’s instalment of Play at He Waka Tuia features the work of Auckland-based contemporary artist Sara Hughes.
Hughes, who grew up in the Hokianga, studied at the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland and had been a full-time artist for more than 20 years.
Hughes said she first created her work All My Favourite Shapes for an exhibition at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2019, before it was exhibited at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki the following year. The work could be reconfigured and reimagined for different spaces, and its showing at He Waka Tuia would be its third iteration.
An interactive artwork made from thousands of brightly-coloured, irregular, magnetic quadrilaterals (a two-dimensional geometric shape with four sides, four corners (vertices), and four interior angles), the inspiration for All My Favourite Shapes struck Hughes as she watched the creativity of her two young sons develop.
“All My Favourite Shapes invites you to take on the role of artist – the whole space becomes a constantly-evolving, collective artwork. It’s continually changing,” she said.
The work also drew inspiration from the magnetic board games of her childhood, from chess to checkers and draughts. All My Favourite Shapes took the form of a giant, magnetic board with enlarged shapes that could be moved onto, over, and off its surface.
“I want people to feel welcome to participate. It can be both simple or complex, it can range from placing one shape quickly to spending an hour arranging and rearranging. There is no right or wrong,” she said.
“All My Favourite Shapes invites people of all ages everyone to participate. I love the way it is cross-generational.”
Hughes had recently also finished her largest work to-date. Iwi Rau (Many leaves, One canopy) wrapped around the recently-opened New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, where it covered 480 large glass panels – many of which were nine metres tall. She was also currently working on a painting exhibition for the Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland.
“I’m curious about the world, and creating art gives me a way to communicate and share my ideas. I trained as a painter, and the history of painting always informs my practice, yet I often work on large-scale public artwork and art installations where I use a wide range of materials. I love working between different scales and materials – it allows me to engage people with my artwork in a range of ways,” she said.
Hughes had previous exhibited in major public galleries, with her work held in a number of collections including at Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Gallery of Australia, and the Chartwell Collection.
She had won multiple awards, including the Wallace Art Award in 2005, and had been selected to participate in several notable residences including the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York in 2007, the Creative New Zealand Berlin Visual Artists Residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in 2008-2009, and the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship in 2003.
That residency – her first opportunity to work as an artist full-time – saw her live in Dunedin for a year, when she was also able to explore the deep south as a first-time visitor.
“It was fantastic to discover this part of New Zealand and visit Invercargill. I haven’t had a chance to visit since then, so I was really looking forward to coming back and sharing All My Favourite Shapes with a Southland audience.”
Play 5.0 opened at He Waka Tuia in Invercargill on Friday 3 July, with the exhibition scheduled to run until 16 August.
