HS8’s second group exhibition at Pah Homestead, (Auckland 8 November 2024 – 16 February 2025, opening Th 8 Nov).
MATERIALISE marks the conclusion of a two-year journey for this remarkable group of HANDSHAKE 8 artists, at The Arts House Trust, Pah Homestead, Auckland.
Over this period, participants have explored and honed their practices through online and in-person masterclasses, lecture series in art history & theory, and collaboration with mentors, including this year’s video presentation masterclass led by Catalan maker Estela Saez-Vilanova.
During this time, they have worked closely together, sharing invaluable experiences and cultivating a shared vision of leadership, all while striving to achieve their individual artistic goals.
The resulting exhibition showcases diverse material and conceptual approaches, embodying Handshake’s ethos of exploration and innovation.
The exhibition process is used as a learning tool for their future exhibitions, focusing on essential curation skills, communication, work support/furniture, exhibition design, artist statements, labels, and other professional gallery ethics. Their first at Depot ArtSpace played a crucial role in this educational process, as well as the collaboration with Pah Homestead’s curator: Nicholas Butler.
MORE about HS8 second exhibition
HS8 exhibition images: Materialise
HS8’s first group exhibition was at Depot Artspace, Devonport (Auckland 4 Nov to 21 Dec 2023, opening Sat 4 Nov).
This marked the mid-project experience, featuring works that were developed throughout a year-long exploration process. The artists’ interests, masterclasses, and coaching sessions all played a vital role in shaping the edited installations of each HS8 artist.
The exhibition process is used as a learning tool for their future exhibitions, focusing on essential curation skills, communication, work support/furniture, exhibition design, artist statements, labels, and other professional gallery ethics. The Depot ArtSpace played a crucial role in this educational process.
MORE about HS8 first exhibition
HS8 exhibition images: Proof of Concept
Exhibiting art in different formats and situations is a rule-bound process that requires practice, feedback, and introduction. Creating artwork for exhibitions, participating in its planning, design, setup, installation, lighting, labels, artist statement, promotion, and delivering artist talks are all integral parts of the exhibition learning experience.
Preparing for an exhibition creates pressure and awareness among HS8 artists about the significance of planning, focus, and direction in their development. It requires good editing, a keen creative eye, resilience, and time management to articulate a homogeneous group from the process and finished works.
HS8 BLOG posts:
of the matrilineal line;
This stone talisman was made in part of a deepening inquiry into matriarchal energy and matrilineal lines, embodiment and intuition. I explore this stone and others in varying ways, allowing instinct to guide me. I cleansed and blessed it in a stream on the land I...
Form follows material
In my previous post, ‘Pōhutukawa Play’, I was exploring surface treatments and finishes that I could achieve with the timber. The second part of the exercise given by my mentor, Neke Moa, was to go deeper into the material. Beyond the surface. It was time to explore...
LOOKING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD
As I look back at my works from our Proof of Concept exhibition as a beginning point to move forward, the prospect of a new beginning feels quite daunting. Yet, the more rational parts of me know there is much to discover if I can take that first step. From this...
HAUNTING
Our last workshop series with Estela has been spent learning to present our work electronically. We spent many weeks responding to her outrageously genius prompts. The results for me have been both painstaking, and pleasantly surprising at times. The prompt for this...
HS8 E-ON sessions
E presentation workshop ON-E by Estela Saez Vilanova (CAT-ES) (subject to funding)
A series of Zoom workshops during April – October 2024 about alternative EXHIBTION options with the intention to prepare Handshake 8 artists for an online exhibition submission
Exhibitions
HS8’s second group exhibition at Pah Homestead, (Auckland 8 November 2024 – 16 February 2025, opening Th 8 Nov).
MATERIALISE marks the conclusion of a two-year journey for this remarkable group of HANDSHAKE 8 artists, at The Arts House Trust, Pah Homestead, Auckland.
Over this period, participants have explored and honed their practices through online and in-person masterclasses, lecture series in art history & theory, and collaboration with mentors, including this year’s video presentation masterclass led by Catalan maker Estela Saez-Vilanova.
During this time, they have worked closely together, sharing invaluable experiences and cultivating a shared vision of leadership, all while striving to achieve their individual artistic goals.
The resulting exhibition showcases diverse material and conceptual approaches, embodying Handshake’s ethos of exploration and innovation.
The exhibition process is used as a learning tool for their future exhibitions, focusing on essential curation skills, communication, work support/furniture, exhibition design, artist statements, labels, and other professional gallery ethics. Their first at Depot ArtSpace played a crucial role in this educational process, as well as the collaboration with Pah Homestead’s curator: Nicholas Butler.
MORE about HS8 second exhibition
HS8 exhibition images: Materialise
HS8 EXHIBITION 1
S8’s first group exhibition was at Depot Artspace, Devonport (Auckland 4 Nov to 21 Dec 2023, opening Sat 4 Nov).
This marked the mid-project experience, featuring works that were developed throughout a year-long exploration process. The artists’ interests, masterclasses, and coaching sessions all played a vital role in shaping the edited installations of each HS8 artist.
The exhibition process is used as a learning tool for their future exhibitions, focusing on essential curation skills, communication, work support/furniture, exhibition design, artist statements, labels, and other professional gallery ethics. The Depot ArtSpace played a crucial role in this educational process.
MORE about HS8 first exhibition
HS8 exhibition images: Proof of Concept
HS8’s second and end-of-project exhibition MATERIALISE: 8 Nov 2024 – 16 Feb 2025 will take place at Pah Homestead, Auckland, opening on Thursday, 7 November 2024, from 6-8 pm.
This exhibition synthesizes all the research, feedback, experiments and ideas into a cohesive body of work. A special feedback hui afterwards determines how the processes and outcomes connect (subject to funding).
Exhibiting art in different formats and situations is a rule-bound process that requires practice, feedback, and introduction. The process of creating artwork for exhibitions, participating in its planning, design, setup, installation, lighting, labels, artist statement, promotion, and delivering artist talks are all integral parts of the exhibition learning experience.
Preparing for an exhibition creates pressure and awareness among HS8 artists about the significance of planning, focus, and direction in their development. It requires good editing, a keen creative eye, resilience, and time management to articulate a homogeneous group from the process and finished works.
Finding Fire
Finding Fire As it goes sometimes, I’ve been finding it challenging to connect to my creative pathway this year. It has been like trying to find the signposts at the start of the walking track, only to realize there are none, and what awaits me is a sickle and the...
Justene Williams
Justene Williams, is an contemporary Australian artist who makes her large-scale immersive works, using multi-channel video installations, photography and performance. Through challenging social norms, using of found objects and waste materials, collage and...
Ana Mendieta
Ana Mendieta was born in Cuba in 1948. Her father, Ignacio Mendieta, was a lawyer who had worked with the FBI during World War II. In 1960 he became involved in an uprising against Fidel Castro and was concerned for the safety of his family. At 12, Ana Mendieta and...
Pōhutukawa play
At the last catch up that I had with my mentor, Neke Moa, she gave me an exercise to help expand my material knowledge. For this exercise I focused on pōhutukawa timber. I had briefly introduced myself to the material with my previous hand carved timber form studies....
Judy Chicago
When Judy Chicago was a student at UCLA in the late 1950s, she took a class called "Intellectual History or Europe," where her male professor declared that women had made zero contributions to European history. Aware of how little Chicago to start what would become a...
HS8 E-ON sessions
E presentation workshop ON-E by: Estela Saez Vilanova (CAT-ES) (subject to funding)
A series of Zoom workshops during April – October 2024 about alternative EXHIBTION options with the intention to prepare Handshake 8 artists for their online exhibition submission


