Thirteen Months of Memories, an exhibition at Toi MAHARA by artist and academic Huhana Smith, sheds artistic light on the experience of memory loss during a period of her life sharing her partner’s struggle with Alzheimers Disease.
In keeping with the title, there are thirteen works, a combination of oil paintings and stitched fabric works on reclaimed plywood.
The exhibition is also a collaborative project. Ciaran Banks, an artist and woodworker who has his own experience of memory loss, has enclosed each work in sculptural wooden frames.
“The works are largely about the experiences of my partner Richard Anderson’s memory loss due to Alzheimer’s and the challenges this disease poses for him, myself and those closest to him,” says Huhana..
She describes her partner as an ardent environmentalist/conservationist who worked both in Aotearoa and the Pacific (Te Moana nui a Kiwa). With his colleagues in the Wildlife Service – the precursor to the Department of Conservation – he worked tirelessly to save some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rare birds from extinction, especially the kākāpō and kōkako.
Her work draws inspiration from pieces of sculpture Richard Anderson created around the couple’s property in Kuku, Horowhenua or in coastal Island Bay.
“When Richard was still able to overcome his frustrations of the Alzheimer’s condition, he engaged in a meditative pastime of weaving found objects together and erecting them as natural installations around our garden, in our trees, off the corner of our house or along our front fence,” she says.
“Each object represented a memory or a reinterpreted story drawn from his impressive environmental experiences. His seasonal structures triggered recollections that regenerated a dialogue, which was both surprising and delightful.”
Huhana Smith says that the progression of her partner’s illness last year to the point that he needed full-time dementia care began a long healing process for her.
“I carefully dismantled most of his installations and transformed them when I took over our front lawn to build a no-dig garden and to grow the vegetables and flowers he was so fond of.”
Collaborator Ciaran Banks currently lives in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. He describes his work as a fusion of fine woodworking and material manipulation through painting.
“For this exhibition, I sourced wood from old barns and houses in Denmark and Norway, dating back 300-500 years,” he says. “These buildings were hand-hewn from oak trees that often live for 600 years, holding lifetimes of memories within their grains.”
Huhana Smith says that in today’s precarious world it’s no wonder acts of kaitiakitanga and environmentalism loom large.
“So this personalised kaupapa on shared memory loss is important to our collaboration, for those closest to us, and for the futures we forge.“
While Huhana was born in Australia, she is affiliated to Ngāti Tukorehe and Raukawa ki te Tonga. She has been living in Aotearoa for more than 30 years. During that time she has been Senior Curator at Te Papa from (2000-2009), Director of her own research company (2010-2016), and now Professor at Toirauwharangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University leading major Mātauranga Māori or Māori knowledge-led environmental projects that benefit Ngāti Tukorehe and Raukawa ki te Tonga.
Thirteen Months of Memories will show at Toi MAHARA until 15 September.
