Printmaker's poignant homecoming
Te Atamira exhibitor Vanessa Edwards. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
A prominent Māori printmaker has dedicated an exhibition at Queenstown's Te Atamira to her mother, who died in a Kingston Rd car crash when her family lived in the resort.
Whanganui-based Vanessa Edwards, who helped found Toi Whakaata Māori Print Collective in 2006, says she moved from Perth to Queenstown with her Māori father Neil Edwards, 'southern' mother Debra Louise, from Wyndham, and older brother in the early 1980s, when she was 3.
She recalls attending Queenstown Primary — "I thoroughly enjoyed school, the outdoor education was amazing" — and she was also into art.
Her parents managed the Pinewood backpackers lodge and her mum started Queenstown's first nail salon, Elegant Nails.
In March 1992 her mother died in that car crash, aged 35, and is buried in the Frankton cemetery — "it was really sad for us," Vanessa says.
After year 7 at Wakatipu High she left with her dad and brother for Taumaranui in the North Island.
"It was a massive cultural shock for me and my brother because we realised what being Māori was as we moved in with our Māori grandparents."
Vanessa later trained at art school in Whanganui, majoring in printmaking — she later completed a masters in Māori visual arts at Massey University.
She says she decided to exhibit in Queenstown because she's noticed Te Atamira's "already had some powerful print shows, and there's not many places that advocate for printmaking".
"I've returned to honour my mother with this beautiful exhibition" — 'karanga atu, karanga mai', or 'calling outward, calling inward'.
Also exhibiting are three other collective members, Alexis Neal, Jasmine Horton and Tessa Russell.
Officially opened last Saturday, the exhibition runs till September 22.
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