Melanie Tangaere Baldwin

PAULNACHE is excited to present a solo exhibition of works by Tairawhiti based artist Melanie Tangaere Baldwin. 

A feature in this exhibition are a selection of works from her project ‘Nõku Te Waimarie’, a multi disciplinary installation (steel light box sculptures) that addresses issues of power, visibility and  narrative control from a 'post colonial', female, indigenous perspective. This will be the third iteration of this installation, which was first shown as 'Whakawhetai' at the Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne, NZ.

Tangaere Baldwin uses the Māori understanding of Whakapapa (genealogical descent) to create self portraits using digital composite images of her mother in large light boxes, videos of her painted three year old daughter, markings from Rakaitemania,her tipuna whare (carved ancestral house) and her personal mnemonic system.

These portraits look at the effects of colonisation on the visibility of Māori women, on our perceptions of beauty and self worth. They describe great loss....but they also describe a great power to overcome.

The title implies an immense and beautiful sense of good fortune...Where the first installation of the works focused on the destructive power of colonisation with a sarcastic play on gratitude. ..this second, altered, show is very much a positive and truthful expression of thankfulness, gratitude for the real strength and power of whakapapa and the Maori world view.

Opening preview: 1st Friday 7 May 2021, 6PM–LATE
Exhibition: 7 – 29 May 2021

 

Biographical information

Melanie Tangaere Baldwin is a Ngāti Porou artist based in Gisborne, NZ. Her work is researched based and largely focused on Te Ao Māori, Mana Wahine, stereotyping of indigenous peoples and the effects of settler colonialism. Melanie is a multi disciplinary artist whose previous works have included painting, sculpture, digital manipulation, photography and video.

As a means of self portrait through whakapapa Melanie uses images of her mother, young daughter and other whānau members in her work and paints them with markings from Rakaitemania - her whare Tipuna at Te Horo marae. This enables her to tell her stories without considering or presuming that she is forging a path all on her own.

Melanie currently operates ‘HOEA’, an inner-city artist-run space, the only artists run initiative in Aotearoa created and operated exclusively by wahine Māori. From there she has established a mentor program for Māori creatives. She previously held an important position as lecturer in Te Toi o Ngā Rangi - Bachelor of Māori Visual Art programme at Toihoukura, Gisborne where she also worked alongside Brett Graham and Steve Gibbs in Te Hono ki Toi - Master of Creative Practice postgraduate programme. She has a passion for contemporary Māori art, for understanding Māori art in context and for encouraging young Māori artists to look and feel safe beyond outside perceptions of what and who they are and what they make.

Melanie has presented solo exhibitions at PAULNACHE (Gisborne), The Tairawhiti Museum (Gisborne) and HOEA Gallery and has participated in group shows at The New Zealand Portrait Gallery (Wellington), Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival (Gisborne), Toi Matarau Gallery (Otaki), Studio One, Toi Tū (Auckland), Kura Gallery (Wellington), PAULNACHE (Gisborne), Pataka (Wellington), the Māori Art Market and The National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne).

Melanie has work is in private and public collections including The Pah Homestead, The National Gallery of Australia and Te Tairawhiti Museum. In 2017 she won the Te Ha Award run by Te Tairawhiti Museum.

 

Education

2020 - Te Hono ki Toi - Master of Professional Creative Practice (passed with Distinction)
2015 - Te Toi o Ngā Rangi - Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts
1998 - Certificate in Film and Television Production