Media Release: Anton Forde exhibition opens at Pātaka in June

A new installation by Waiheke Island artist Anton Forde (Taranaki, Gaeltagh, Gaelic, English) opens at Pātaka Art + Museum this winter, 22 June–13 October. Papare Eighty.one features 81 carved, wooden contemporary pou that will appear as sentinels in the gallery – a call for collective action in the fight to safeguard our natural environment.

Each pou is distinguished by only the slightest difference in head shape, inclination and hand-carved pounamu taonga and each features motifs, carved forms and numerology drawn from a connection to taiao and natural systems that have sustained humanity. Together, the pou will be placed in a kao kao-inspired (ribbed) formation.

“Configuring the pou as guards, Anton places natural environments under their protection,” says Pātaka Lead Curator, Ioana Gordon-Smith, “Papare Eighty.one enacts a call to safeguard the future of our natural world for generations to come.”

Fresh from exhibiting a similar work of pou, Papare/Protection, at Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe in Western Australia, Forde was last year one of only two New Zealand artists chosen to exhibit at Bondi’s Sculpture by the Sea, the world’s largest public outdoor sculpture exhibition. The work Papare/ Protection received three notable awards including the Artists’ choice selected by the 121 participating artists at Bondi. Forde says his work makes both an aesthetic and a social statement and explores the majesty of nature and a connection to the land for first nation indigenous cultures.

“I hope my works connect us to our whenua and moana in a way that makes us want to do more to protect them,” says Forde.

Anton Forde began carving when he was 18 and has studied under sculptors Paul Dibble, Gary Whiting and Paul Hansen. Under the supervision of Professor Robert Jahnke at Massey University’s Māori Visual Arts Programme Toioho ki Āpiti, he gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Māori Visual Arts (Distinction) and a Masters of Māori Visual Arts with First Class Honours. Forde has since spent extended periods living in Taranaki and in Ireland, where he learnt ancient art themes. He now lives on Waiheke Island. Forde’s works feature in public and private collections both in Aotearoa and around the world.