Standing Place is inspired by the concept of tūrangawaewae. For me tūrangawaewae encompasses a sense of place, of where we come from, our sense of inner space and how we perceive through the lenses of our lives lived and how everything connects- the places that are important to us, the people that have shaped us, the ancestors that made choices to uproot and to put down roots. My place of growing up was in Piripai, a sand dune where the Whakatane river entered the sea. I spent holidays walking in Te Urewera, Whirinaki and Pureora. It is these forests that are in my dream scape, it is that wild force interwoven through the physical that I am particularly drawn to expressing in my art practice. I have lived on Waiheke for forty years, watching the regeneration of the forest here is a hopeful and beautiful testament to what is possible. This exhibition brings the essence of both the forests of my childhood and the coastal forests of Waiheke Island and essence of place that is always there.

Through the process of printmaking, building the plate and the practise of an old craft, allows me time to slow down and express what lies underneath or behind the world as I see it. When I lift the paper after it has gone through the press, I am always moved, I feel like an adventurer, not knowing how the final print will be revealed with its purposeful and serendipitous marks...' - Leila Lees