My River Goes With Me: Johnson Witehira & Julie Nagam, Instalaltion View. Supplied by The Dowse.
Photo Credit
Water is a constant. It provides sustenance, heals, uplifts, transports, and transforms. No matter where in the world you may be, it is likely the water you look at, consume and employ is the same water seen, felt and tasted by others on the opposite side of the globe.
This shared experience is at the heart of My River Goes With Me, a collaboration between Wellington-based Johnson Witehira (Ngāpuhi, Tamahaki) and Winnipeg-based Julie Nagam (Métis, German, Syrian). Together they have created an immersive experience that highlights the life-giving qualities of water as a metaphor and a unifying element to bridge geographical distance and cultural tradition.
Featuring imagery from both artists’ tūrangawaewae (standing place), this exhibition draws on their combined visual languages, imagining a space where time and place converge. The installation explores representations of the flora and fauna of Witehira and Nagam’s geographic regions alongside the unique iconography of their respective whakapapa (lineages).
Their rivers play an important role in this work, which is depicted as a kōwhaiwhai watercourse moving around the gallery space. Witehira draws on the deep connection he shares with the Whanganui River, the first body of water in Aotearoa recognised as a person. A circle of stones included in the installation has been transported from Pipiriki on the banks of the Whanganui;
“I see the stones as a tangible piece of me, one that is there to look after the art project and be in the space in my absence. They carry a mauri that can't be generated by the digital works alone.”
Nagam references two interconnected waterways, the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, which come together in the heart of Winnipeg, in the Manitoba territory of Canada. She has also included the birch and red pine trees that are such distinctive features from her landscape alongside some of the wildlife;
“Our future is littered with doom and gloom and many people are stuck in this mindset. I want to move past these feelings and attempt to listen to the land, waterways and animals. I want to hear their knowledge and help bring us [humans] forward into the future through mutually respectful relationships with the natural world. I want to imagine all of us existing in the future, for the next generations, and to give that gift to my children and theirs.”
Utilising hand-drawn elements alongside digital printing, rendering, animation and a specially created soundscape My River Goes With Me offers a multi-layered experience while providing an insight into these artists shared vision.
The installation will be exhibited at Urban Shaman and The Dowse Art Museum.
Water is a constant. It provides sustenance, heals, uplifts, transports, and transforms. No matter where in the world you may be, it is likely the water you look at, consume and employ is the same water seen, felt and tasted by others on the opposite side of the globe.
This shared experience is at the heart of My River Goes With Me, a collaboration between Wellington-based Johnson Witehira (Ngāpuhi, Tamahaki) and Winnipeg-based Julie Nagam (Métis, German, Syrian). Together they have created an immersive experience that highlights the life-giving qualities of water as a metaphor and a unifying element to bridge geographical distance and cultural tradition.
Featuring imagery from both artists’ tūrangawaewae (standing place), this exhibition draws on their combined visual languages, imagining a space where time and place converge. The installation explores representations of the flora and fauna of Witehira and Nagam’s geographic regions alongside the unique iconography of their respective whakapapa (lineages).
Their rivers play an important role in this work, which is depicted as a kōwhaiwhai watercourse moving around the gallery space. Witehira draws on the deep connection he shares with the Whanganui River, the first body of water in Aotearoa recognised as a person. A circle of stones included in the installation has been transported from Pipiriki on the banks of the Whanganui;
“I see the stones as a tangible piece of me, one that is there to look after the art project and be in the space in my absence. They carry a mauri that can't be generated by the digital works alone.”
Nagam references two interconnected waterways, the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, which come together in the heart of Winnipeg, in the Manitoba territory of Canada. She has also included the birch and red pine trees that are such distinctive features from her landscape alongside some of the wildlife;
“Our future is littered with doom and gloom and many people are stuck in this mindset. I want to move past these feelings and attempt to listen to the land, waterways and animals. I want to hear their knowledge and help bring us [humans] forward into the future through mutually respectful relationships with the natural world. I want to imagine all of us existing in the future, for the next generations, and to give that gift to my children and theirs.”
Utilising hand-drawn elements alongside digital printing, rendering, animation and a specially created soundscape My River Goes With Me offers a multi-layered experience while providing an insight into these artists shared vision.
The installation will be exhibited at Urban Shaman and The Dowse Art Museum.
