Whakakotahi | Coalescence 31st July – 8th September 2025
Whakakotahi explores the fusion of textiles and Te Taiao (the natural world), referencing the relationship between animals, plants, and minerals in Aotearoa. Woven rugs and textile-inspired paintings explore material connections in the environment, which are artificially mediated by human activity.
Consideration of how materials return to the earth is woven into my practice. The concept of advancing whakapapa recognises that choices made today have ongoing effects on the environment and future generations.
The inception of works in Whakakotahi was the placement of a handwoven wool rug in coastal settings. The artificially vivid hues of wool pile sat amidst decaying bark, volcanic whenua, tussock, and lichen-covered rocks. The rug visually blended with its setting in some sites, as though materials had coalesced; in others, it looked out of place. Considering these disparate associations leads to the question of how material relationships might change in time as the rug decomposes.
These dynamics play out in the works in the exhibition through a dialectic approach to form, material choices and layers of process, where visual elements vie for dominance. Paintings on loose, unprimed canvas panels contrast with paintings on square, stretched, primed canvas. Plant and mineral-based paints, and whenua pigments create marks which codify the contrast of the pile rug and the natural world. Expressive renderings of texture may dominate or be erased.
Textile-inspired paintings contrast with woven pieces. In the handwoven floor rugs, commercially dyed cotton warp interweaves with whenua-infused natural wool. Diverse materials aggregate into a cohesive, grounded whole. The pile wall hanging is partly deconstructed, as though weathering in time. This piece’s whenua dyed wool and linen warp would decompose and nourish the earth if left outside.
Whakakotahi asks us to question our relationship to the natural world through material choices, and how the materials we use today might coalesce with Te Taiao in the future.
Some detail images of selected works in Whakakotahi/Coalescence
Helen’s Bio:
Helen Harvey (Mātāwaka, Pākehā is a mixed media artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her richly layered works blur the line between textiles and paintings. Inspired by the interconnection between humanity and the natural world. her practice is cultural and political. The philosophy of living in harmony with the environment is a common thread. Recent works use plastic-free painting media. Current research under the Master of Visual Arts programme at AUT explores her connection to Papatūānuku (the Earth) using paint made with whenua pigments.
Helen has answered our interview questions to give us a bit more backstory about her artistic journey so far. Here they are for your enjoyment.
What initially attracted you to making art? How was your imagination captured?
I craved meaningful creative expression. I have come to appreciate the freedom that art gives me to choose what to make and why.
What or who were your early influences, and how has your life/upbringing influenced your work?
I was brought up around making. My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet while my mother worked as a commercial artist. My grandfather was a clever maker and fixer, and even sewed his own sails on a treadle sewing machine.
What was your route to becoming an artist?
For most of my adult life, art was something I loved but didn’t pursue as a career. I came to art searching for the meaning in my work that I previously found engrossing when I studied landscape design. As an artist, my work is environmentally focused, with the web of connections in Te Taiao (the natural world) inspiring my practice.
Tell us a bit about your process from conception to creation, please.
My process involves building up layers. I think of this as co-creating with materials and the artwork, rather than premeditating exactly how a work will be. Lately, I have been painting with earth pigments on unprimed, unstretched canvas. The close connection of foraged materials to the earth involves a visceral making experience.
Can you describe some of your chosen techniques and how you choose to use them?
I am painting with earth (whenua) pigments on raw canvas, using non-acrylic binders, like soy and rabbit skin glue. My motivation is to avoid loading the environment with microplastics found in vinyl and acrylic media. I love texture, and in weaving, I find pile interesting, but the sequential nature of weaving on a loom frustrates me. I prefer to pre-weave a backing and add and remove pile later, using stitch. Lately, I feel the pull of muka, a fibre which I haven’t worked with.
What currently inspires you?
Bold, gestural movements, like painting with a broom, works of immersive scale, texture, and materiality. Connecting to place by making in the field. Currently, I am reducing the plastic waste that my practice produces.
Is there a piece of your work that holds particularly fond memories for you, and why?
A double corduroy Marquette woven in a workshop with Esther Nitschke. Other weavers rejected the vintage yellow and orange carpet wool, but the colours grew on me. It was later photographed on windswept lichen-covered rocks amongst golden grasses in Westport with tapestry weaver Marilyn Rea-Menzies. The contrast of artificially dyed wool, sitting in Te Taiao, inspired the exhibition Whakakotahi | Coalescence.
How has your work developed since you began, and how do you see it evolving in the future?
In the research that I am doing for my MVA studies, my work is experimental. I thought that I was going to make abstract paintings and present them on the wall, but I have been playing with installing paintings as objects with a relationship to the floor, blurring the line between paintings and sculpture.
What advice would you give an aspiring artist?
There can be a lot of angst felt about finding your medium or style. The way to find what “you” is, is to keep making and following your hunches.
What is something you cannot take your eyes off when you see it – that fascinates and mesmerises you?
Fleeting shapes of light shining through vegetation that I see in frosted windows. The negative shapes of light are highlighted against silhouettes made by foliage. I try to photograph these moments, but they blur and disappear.
What is your favourite way to unwind or de-stress
Knitting and crochet that is not too complicated, and social knitting at my local wool shop, Loopine.
Some images of Helen at work during her Residency.
Update November 2024
Helen had her work History is Always Present selected for Time – The Juried Regional Exhibition for SDA . Details about this exhibition are at https://fromoutofthebluestudiogallery.com/time-2/
History is Always present
History is Always Present is based on the Māori world view of time. Past and present co-exist in parallel and the past is a source of strength and knowledge. In this mixed media piece, fragments of previous layers are still visible through layers of paint. Collaged fabric and silk tissue are eco-printed with fern fronds and smokebush leaves. Ferns have ancient origins, while the smoke bush evolved more recently and is an exotic import. These plants grow together in my garden, although they originate from different times.
Materials: Mixed media collage on canvas. Includes eco-printed cotton and silk tissue, acrylic and plant-based paints.
Dimensions: 126 cm x 84 cm
Here are the Juror’s comments about the work:
This mixed media work has many beautiful elements, some of which are elusive and hidden, others dominate and come to the forefront. The colour palette suits the imagery well and through the accumulation of layers the work has depth and mystery. The artist has accepted that time is not only linear but moves from front to back, top to bottom and side to side. This, for me, brings together process with intent.
from out of the blue studio gallery first installed work by Helen Harvey from Auckland for The Beach 2023-24 This was an open call for works showed the connection between a beach or beaches and the artist More on the exhibition can be found https://fromoutofthebluestudiogallery.com/the-artists-the-beach-a-summertime-collection-2023-2024/
Helen talks about her practice :
I am an emerging mixed-media artist with a background in landscape design. Inspired by patterns in the landscape, and imprints left by mankind, my paintings and textiles are richly layered. The philosophy of living in harmony with the environment is a common thread. My creative process allows me to simultaneously express diverse responses, such as railing against waste, and celebrating the beauty of wildflowers.
Helen Harvey has used photographic techniques and stitch to create a series of images as a panel that depict her environmental concerns after encountering gabion baskets of wire and stone overlaid with rope, fishing line and organic matter at Karaka Bay Auckland.
Her striking work is called Meetup at Karaka Bay. This is our first time to host Helen’s work and it has an impressive presence in the gallery – what a delight to add Helen to our community of creators.
helen-harvey@xtra.co.nz
Academic Education/Qualifications
2025 Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau / Auckland University of Technology Enrolled: Master of Visual Arts
2023 – 2024 Art2Life: Creative Visionary Programme
2022 Te Wānanga O Aotearoa Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art (L3) Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
2017 Te Wānanga O Aotearoa, Certificate in Small Business Management (L4) Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
2011 Unitec / Te Pūkenga Foundations in Narrative Therapy (L7)
2011 University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau Graduate Diploma in Psychology Awards: Certificate of Distinction in Introductory Statistics
1998 Unitec Te Pūkenga Diploma in Landscape Design (L5) Top Student in Year Award Top Design Student in Year Award
1990 University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau Bachelor of Science Degree Majors: cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry Senior Prize in biochemistry Senior Prize in cellular and molecular biology
Professional Development
2024 – 2025 Sophia Kosmaoglou Critical & contextual studies in art practice: online course
2024 – Deborah Crowe and Emil McAvoy Mentoring, CRIT SKILLS programme
2023, 2024 Art2Life Creative Visionary Programme: 12-week interactive online development programme 2023 Wayfind Creative, Depot Artspace, Devonport, Auckland
Creative Business Mentoring (MSD funded) 2021 – 2024
Lisa Mann Fine Art Abstract oil painting: Online, ongoing programme
2021 – 2022 Creative Fibre Certificate in Tapestry Weaving Levels 1-3 with Marilyn Rea-Menzies
2019 Marshfield School or Weaving, Vermont, USA Weaving intensive (5 weeks)
2018 Marshfield School or Weaving, Vermont, USA Weaving intensive (2 weeks)
2000 Te Tuhi, Pakuranga, Tāmaki Makaurau Colour Design with Peta Tearle
Group exhibitions and residencies
2025 Finalist: Estuary Art Awards
2024 Surface Design Association Time: group exhibition juried by Carole Shepheard at from out of the blue studio gallery
2024 Finalist: Estuary Art Awards
2024 Wharepuke Subtropical Gardens, Kerikeri Whenua: 2-week self-directed residency
2024 Ogle Gallery, Lake House Arts Finding Our Way: group exhibition
2023 from out of the blue studio gallery A Day at the Beach: group exhibition
2023 Wharepuke Subtropical Gardens, Kerikeri Connections: past, present, and future: 3-week self-directed residency
2023 Franklin Arts Centre Te Pokapū Toi o Franklin, Pukekohe
Franklin Arts Festival Art Show 2022 Corban Estate Arts Centre, Henderson
Mood Indigo: Auckland Handweavers and Spinners Guild (selected by jury)
SOLO EXHIBITION 2025 From Out of the Blue Gallery Whakakotahi | Coalescence
Work Experience
July 2017 – present Earth Wisdom Self-employed gardener and consultant Contract garden maintenance and advice for commercial and residential gardens
2008 – 2017 Meridian Coaching Self-employed stress management coach Personal coaching integrating mind-body modalities, to manage and reduce stress
1998 – 2008 Helen Harvey Landscape Design Contracted self-employed landscape designer, Palmers Garden Centre, Orakei, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland Develop detailed landscape design plans and give advice for residential gardens
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenharveyartist/