the body of the work / it does no harm to wonder

Richard Reddaway

Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History

23 November 2019 – 23 February 2020

Opening function Friday 22 November, 5.30pm - guest speaker Prof Huhana Smith

Artist and Curator Talk Saturday 23 November, 11am

The body of the work / it does no harm to wonder is a significant survey exhibition of Richard Reddaway’s artwork: sculptures from the mid-1980s, photomontages from the 1990s, recent sculptural objects, new collaborative work with craftspeople and students in Masterton, and a forthcoming publication with pages that can be assembled into sculptural objects.

"This innovative exhibition weaves together art from various people," said Susanna Shadbolt, Aratoi Director. "Aratoi is proud to exhibit this landmark survey of Richard Reddaway’s work.”

The body of the work / It does no harm to wonder looks back over 30 years of Richard Reddaway's art practice, revealing work made in relation to the Anti-Springbok Tour protests, the economic reforms of the Fourth Labour Government and subsequent social and cultural upheavals. Reddaway has exhibited his sculptural installations across New Zealand and internationally (Australia, Perú, Spain, The Netherlands, USA), and has produced the first significant showing of New Zealand art in Mexico. He teaches at Massey University Whiti-o-Rehua School of Art, Wellington.

"My art has filled space, made noise, and seen photography as an object," said Richard Reddaway. "I am interested in things as diverse as the body, urban planning and growth, and human impact on the environment. But currently I am making art 'work' to find a way out of neo-liberalism into the social. This necessarily includes engaging with communities to make art and to be part of my exhibitions. And, as always, some attempt at understanding what naming oneself Pākehā means."

Reddaway and Curator Janita Craw invited people in Masterton “to participate, make things, and to contribute something (of themselves) to the exhibition”: collaborators include Kate Devenny and Becky Bateman (Museum Educators, Aratoi); Janet Palmer-Langley, Marion Cameron, Win Ward, Helga Ackerley, Noelene Dunlop (Wairarapa Spinners and Weavers Guild); Stephanie Chilcott, Noella Godinet, and the members of the Wairarapa Embroiderers Guild; Rick Wallace, Pat Cunningham, Seymour Harris, Graham Pearson (Henley Men's Shed); and students and teachers at Douglas Park School.

Stories by 50 Douglas Park School students are also on view in a new video, with videography by Ben Brunskill, in a project supported by Masterton Creative Communities Scheme.