'Where light and footsteps fold' - design by Megan Brady
Photo Credit
Two walls, one on the exterior of the building and the other inside Lux Cafe, weave together observations of the artist’s ancestral awa in Waitaha Canterbury with playful design elements that speak to layers of place-making and whakapapa.
One of the starting points for this work is a sketch of the Rakahuri Ashley River by the artist’s uncle. North of Christchurch City, Rakahuri is one of the numerous rivers that flow into Te Tai o Maahunui Pegasus Bay. Rakahuri forms the basis for a repeating design on the exterior of the building where the tributaries of a braided river become abstracted, resembling other connected living things like tree branches or veins. They are offset by bands of colour that look like large paint swatches.
The second part of the design, inside Lux Espresso, uses colour to embody the action of weaving different things together. The artist has selected colours based on their names or significance to the gallery building and site—from “Hoki”, a verb which means to go back, or return (a blue-grey); to “Bilbao”, a bright green that colour matches CoCA gallery’s original modernist lampshades; the dark brown “Espresso”; and “Canterbury Clay” (tan), “Bone” (light brown); and “Triple Rakaia” (a warm grey), which each speak to the geomorphology and histories of occupation in Waitaha.
Connecting the seen and unseen, Where light and footsteps fold explores the different intersections of the building—gallery, cafe, museum—and the whenua and histories upon which it stands in this part of the world.
Megan Brady (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Pākehā) is an artist currently based in Ōtepoti Dunedin. Working across sculpture, installation and sound she is particularly interested in the way we navigate sites — often responding to patterns and details in the environment. Selected recent exhibitions include Paemanu: Tauraka Toi, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2021-22; Lay in measures with Ed Ritchie, Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, 2020; Dead reckoning with Oliver Perkins, The Physics Room, 2019; and A quiet corner where we can talk, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2018. Alongside her work as an artist Megan facilitates creative practices at Studio2 Margaret Freeman Gallery — a small, all-inclusive art studio for Ōtepoti artists with disabilities.
Ki whea whētuia ai te aho me te tapuae Nā Megan Brady, 2022
He arowhāiti ki te wāhi, he matarua te matarahi Ki whea whētuia ai te aho me te tapuae nā Megan Brady mō CoCA. E rua kā pātū, ko tētahi kai waho o te whare, ko tērā atu kai roto i te wharekai ko Lux Cafe, e tuitui ana i kā kiteka o te awa tipuna o te rikatoi i Kā Pākihi Whakatekateka o Waitaha, me ētahi āhuataka hoahoa āhuareka e tohu ana i kā paparaka o te ahu nōhaka me te whakapapa.
Ko tētahi o kā pūtake tīmataka mō tēnei mahika toi, ko tētahi huahua o te awa Rakahuri nā te hākoro kēkē o te rikatoi. Ki te raki o Ōtautahi, ko Rakahuri tētahi o kā awa huhua e rere ana ki Te Tai o Maahunui. Ka noho a Rakahuri hai pūtake o te hoahoa tāruarua ki waho o te whare, e tūrehurehu haere ana kā kautawa o te awa whiria; e tairite ana ki ētahi atu toiora whai honoka, pēnei i te peka rākau, i te ia-auraki rānei. Ka karapitihia ērā ki kā tāhei tae, me he tīpako peita nui te āhua.
Kai te wāhaka tuarua o te hoahoa, ki rō Lux Espresso, ka whakamahia kā tae hai whakatinana i te mahi o te tuitui i kā mea rerekē kia kotahi. Ko kōwhiria e te rikatoi kā tae nō ruka i kā ikoa, i te hiraka rānei ki te whare whakaatu toi me te wāhi - mai i 'Hoki', he tūmahi mō te hoki atu (he ōrakihina); ki 'Bilbao', he kākāriki e rite ana ki kā kōpare rama akahou taketake o te whare whakaaturaka o CoCA; te parauri o 'Espresso'; me 'Canterbury Clay' (he hāura), 'Bone' (he hāuratea); me 'Triple Rakaia' (he hina mahana). Ērā katoa ka kōrero ki te mātai āhuataka whenua me kā kōrero ahikā i Waitaha.
E hono ana i kā mea kitea me kā mea e kore e kitea, ka tūhura ‘Ki whea whētuia ai te aho me te tapuae’ i kā pūtahi rerekē o te whare - he whare whakaatu toi, he wharekai, he whare taoka - tae atu ki te whenua me ōhona kōrero, arā te wāhi e tū ai te whare ki tēnei whaitua o te ao.
He rikatoi a Megan Brady (Kāi Tahu, Kāi Tūāhuriri, Pākehā) e noho ana ki Ōtepoti i tēnei wā. E mahi ana i ruka i te tārai, te toi puni me te oro, kai te tino aro ia ki te āhua o tā tātau pōkai i kā wāhi - me te urupare ki kā tauira me kā taipitopito i te taiao. Ko ētahi o āhana whakaaturaka inātata nei ko Paemanu: Tauraka Toi, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, i te tau 2021-22; ko Lay in measures i te taha o Ed Ritchie, ki Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, i te tau 2020; ko Dead reckoning i te taha o Oliver Perkins, ki The Physics Room, i te tau 2019; me A quiet corner where we can talk, ki Dunedin Public Art Gallery, i te tau 2018. Tāpiri atu ki tāhana mahi hai rikatoi, ka whakahaere a Megan i ētahi riteka auaha ki Studio2 Margaret Freeman Gallery - he taupuni toi iti, he taupuni kauawhi mō kā rikatoi whaikaha o Ōtepoti.
Hours
- Tuesday to Frida: 10am - 5pm
- Saturday: 10am - 3pm
- Closed on Sunday, Monday and Public Holidays
Address
- 66 Gloucester Street
- Ōtautahi Christchurch
Two walls, one on the exterior of the building and the other inside Lux Cafe, weave together observations of the artist’s ancestral awa in Waitaha Canterbury with playful design elements that speak to layers of place-making and whakapapa.
One of the starting points for this work is a sketch of the Rakahuri Ashley River by the artist’s uncle. North of Christchurch City, Rakahuri is one of the numerous rivers that flow into Te Tai o Maahunui Pegasus Bay. Rakahuri forms the basis for a repeating design on the exterior of the building where the tributaries of a braided river become abstracted, resembling other connected living things like tree branches or veins. They are offset by bands of colour that look like large paint swatches.
The second part of the design, inside Lux Espresso, uses colour to embody the action of weaving different things together. The artist has selected colours based on their names or significance to the gallery building and site—from “Hoki”, a verb which means to go back, or return (a blue-grey); to “Bilbao”, a bright green that colour matches CoCA gallery’s original modernist lampshades; the dark brown “Espresso”; and “Canterbury Clay” (tan), “Bone” (light brown); and “Triple Rakaia” (a warm grey), which each speak to the geomorphology and histories of occupation in Waitaha.
Connecting the seen and unseen, Where light and footsteps fold explores the different intersections of the building—gallery, cafe, museum—and the whenua and histories upon which it stands in this part of the world.
Megan Brady (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Pākehā) is an artist currently based in Ōtepoti Dunedin. Working across sculpture, installation and sound she is particularly interested in the way we navigate sites — often responding to patterns and details in the environment. Selected recent exhibitions include Paemanu: Tauraka Toi, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2021-22; Lay in measures with Ed Ritchie, Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, 2020; Dead reckoning with Oliver Perkins, The Physics Room, 2019; and A quiet corner where we can talk, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2018. Alongside her work as an artist Megan facilitates creative practices at Studio2 Margaret Freeman Gallery — a small, all-inclusive art studio for Ōtepoti artists with disabilities.
Ki whea whētuia ai te aho me te tapuae Nā Megan Brady, 2022
He arowhāiti ki te wāhi, he matarua te matarahi Ki whea whētuia ai te aho me te tapuae nā Megan Brady mō CoCA. E rua kā pātū, ko tētahi kai waho o te whare, ko tērā atu kai roto i te wharekai ko Lux Cafe, e tuitui ana i kā kiteka o te awa tipuna o te rikatoi i Kā Pākihi Whakatekateka o Waitaha, me ētahi āhuataka hoahoa āhuareka e tohu ana i kā paparaka o te ahu nōhaka me te whakapapa.
Ko tētahi o kā pūtake tīmataka mō tēnei mahika toi, ko tētahi huahua o te awa Rakahuri nā te hākoro kēkē o te rikatoi. Ki te raki o Ōtautahi, ko Rakahuri tētahi o kā awa huhua e rere ana ki Te Tai o Maahunui. Ka noho a Rakahuri hai pūtake o te hoahoa tāruarua ki waho o te whare, e tūrehurehu haere ana kā kautawa o te awa whiria; e tairite ana ki ētahi atu toiora whai honoka, pēnei i te peka rākau, i te ia-auraki rānei. Ka karapitihia ērā ki kā tāhei tae, me he tīpako peita nui te āhua.
Kai te wāhaka tuarua o te hoahoa, ki rō Lux Espresso, ka whakamahia kā tae hai whakatinana i te mahi o te tuitui i kā mea rerekē kia kotahi. Ko kōwhiria e te rikatoi kā tae nō ruka i kā ikoa, i te hiraka rānei ki te whare whakaatu toi me te wāhi - mai i 'Hoki', he tūmahi mō te hoki atu (he ōrakihina); ki 'Bilbao', he kākāriki e rite ana ki kā kōpare rama akahou taketake o te whare whakaaturaka o CoCA; te parauri o 'Espresso'; me 'Canterbury Clay' (he hāura), 'Bone' (he hāuratea); me 'Triple Rakaia' (he hina mahana). Ērā katoa ka kōrero ki te mātai āhuataka whenua me kā kōrero ahikā i Waitaha.
E hono ana i kā mea kitea me kā mea e kore e kitea, ka tūhura ‘Ki whea whētuia ai te aho me te tapuae’ i kā pūtahi rerekē o te whare - he whare whakaatu toi, he wharekai, he whare taoka - tae atu ki te whenua me ōhona kōrero, arā te wāhi e tū ai te whare ki tēnei whaitua o te ao.
He rikatoi a Megan Brady (Kāi Tahu, Kāi Tūāhuriri, Pākehā) e noho ana ki Ōtepoti i tēnei wā. E mahi ana i ruka i te tārai, te toi puni me te oro, kai te tino aro ia ki te āhua o tā tātau pōkai i kā wāhi - me te urupare ki kā tauira me kā taipitopito i te taiao. Ko ētahi o āhana whakaaturaka inātata nei ko Paemanu: Tauraka Toi, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, i te tau 2021-22; ko Lay in measures i te taha o Ed Ritchie, ki Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, i te tau 2020; ko Dead reckoning i te taha o Oliver Perkins, ki The Physics Room, i te tau 2019; me A quiet corner where we can talk, ki Dunedin Public Art Gallery, i te tau 2018. Tāpiri atu ki tāhana mahi hai rikatoi, ka whakahaere a Megan i ētahi riteka auaha ki Studio2 Margaret Freeman Gallery - he taupuni toi iti, he taupuni kauawhi mō kā rikatoi whaikaha o Ōtepoti.
