Mandy Joass is a full time sustainable sculptor and multidisciplinary artist. She graduated in 2015 from the University of Canterbury, where she was awarded the Edgar-Lonsdale drawing prize and two scholarships, with a BFA in sculpture. Since then Joass has been part of 30 exhibitions including 'NZSoS' 2016/2018 and 'Waiheke Sculpture on the Gulf ' 2019.

Of Ngapuhi, Pakeha, Viking whakapapa Joass's studies ignited a deeper connection with ancestral knowledge, which she expresses through raranga, exploring cultural connection through her work.

East coast elder Apirana Ngata explained Whakapapa as ‘the process of laying one thing upon another’. The warp and weft nature of raranga, mirrors the overlapping and integration of cultures, many small elements combining to form a new fabric stronger and richer than its individual strands.

Joass's use of recycled aluminum blinds serves as an industrial place holder for harakeke and a has been a silent witness to decades of cultural and social change. The blinds which date back as far as mid last century were present when a whole generation turned its back on all things mātauranga Māori. My work aims to celebrate the survival and expansion of this precious knowledge.

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www.instagram.com/mandyjoass