Hannah Rose Arnold
Shared Lines: Pūtahitanga exhibiting artist
The Rib Bone (2019) mixed media, photo courtesy of Artsdiary.com
As a photographer, filmmaker and printmaker, Hannah documents the New Zealand interior in the style of pictorialism. Her work draws links between the physical and psychological spaces in which we dwell - exploring ideas of faith, trauma, redemption and sense of place. As a relatively transient artist within New Zealand, she is motivated by aspects of storytelling, folklore and the unique cultural and social environment of this land.
Her practice is influenced by her family’s colonial history, a rambling baptist upbringing, and a deep concern for and connection with the environment.
In 2018, Hannah graduated from Unitec Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in Photography. In 2019, The Tensile Strength of a Heartstring was selected as a finalist for the Australia New Zealand Photobook Award, and her image The Rib Bone travelled as a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards.
Shared Lines: Pūtahitanga 2020
I have adapted a technique previously used on fabric works - processing and refining earth pigments for use on paper. Mapping the Kaipara River’s distinctive winding course to harbour, using mud from its banks.
The piece is influenced by my long running interest in the wellbeing of my local river. Cultural, industrial and pastoral influences over the past 150 years have taken a toll on the landscape of the Kaipara area - and this is nowhere more evident than in the sediment filled river. Foreign organic matter in the mud has given the pigment its distinct green-brown appearance.
During lockdown I spent a lot of time by the river, appreciating its impersonal, relentless flow and accompanying ecosystem during crisis. The final shape is interpreted from vintage aerial maps and photographs of the Kaipara River, and pays homage to its many twists and turns.