Keeping it natural . . .

THE full-time influence of a tutor skilled in textile arts has added extra strength to that aspect of teaching at the Eastern Institute of Technology’s Gisborne School of Maori Art (Toihou-kura), says principal tutor Steve Gibbs.
A weaver of formidable reputation, Christine Wirihana had for some time travelled from her base in the Bay of Plenty to lead workshops at the art school.
However, her influence has become even stronger since she joined the wananga on a full-time basis. And that is demonstrated in Toihoukura’s new summer show, Ehutai, which opens at Tairawhiti Museum tomorrow.
Of the school’s 60 students, no fewer than eight designed major pieces to show at the 2011 Cult Couture fashion show held in Auckland in October, three of which feature in the new exhibition.
Reflecting Toihoukura’s focus on the contemporary arts, the garments are bold, vivid, constructed in modern shapes and forms. But central to their success is their use of natural materials, among them fabrics, flaxes, dyes, leaves and feathers.
All of those have come together to make Hone Bailey’s extraordinarily detailed formal dress — paint adding lustre to the leaves, turmeric used to dye the lining, copper, feathers and silk adding to the intricacy of the construction.
“Hone has come to us from Hawaii, via New York, and his background in fashion has also contributed to our renewed emphasis on textile arts,” Gibbs said. “He is a very interesting young artist, very articulate in getting his message across, and we are looking forward to watching him grow in the future.”
Frocks and feathers form just a part of Ehutai which, as Toihoukura’s summer show does every year, has been designed to show off the best of what students have produced.
Media from painting and sculpture to carving and claywork are all represented, and Steve Gibbs says students really had to prove themselves to secure a space.
“Every year it involves a strict editing process whereby we cut and we cut until we are left with the very best,” he said. “What we have ended up with this year is mainly works by third-year degree students, plus some pieces by other students who have managed to produce some particularly remarkable work.”
But the others don’t miss out, he added.
There is enough quality work left over to mount a substantial show at Toihoukura’s own Cobden Street galleries, which will be open to the public over the summer period.
And senior students will also show work at a dealer gallery in Wellington, as part of the school’s insistence that they engage in the “business” of being artists.
Meanwhile, back at the museum, the theme to the new show sees most students exploring the natural environment and the challenges it faces, from oil exploration to earthquakes.
“Those sorts of things have had a tremendous impact on our students this year and that is seen in the work they have produced.”
■ Toihoukura’s summer show Ehutai will be opened at Tairawhiti Museum at 5.30pm tomorrow, a time when the Ruanuku — the school’s top student for the year — will also be announced.