The past few years have been busy ones for Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-based artist Shannon Novak. He’s produced solo projects, like the multi-site Cultivate (2021) in Ngāmotu New Plymouth, and participated in group shows, such as Sympathetic Resonance (2019) at the Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson, and Queer Algorithms (2020) at the Gus Fisher Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau. Francis...
Discovery When I take the Broadsheets out of their museum boxes, the covers are familiar. I open one and brush my thumbs over the pages. The newsprint is velvety. I think of the strange little patch of downy fur at the base of my newborn baby’s back. I put my face to the magazine and breathe in. It smells as sweet and musty as the inside of my mother’s room.[1] —Tusiata Avia On the kitchen table...
Independent writer and curator Francis McWhannell looks at five artists with a commitment to community and compassion. These five artists from Aotearoa New Zealand span different generations and backgrounds, and employ diverse media in their respective practices. They were initially chosen for the simple reason that their works caught my attention and refused to let go. However, points of...