No.8 Wire National Art Award Finalist 3rd Place

Cherise:

Dune Series 1 represents a brief moment of natural beauty from my daily beach walks. Since the 1960’s the coastline where I live has experienced significant dune erosion. Recent plantings of native sand grasses have begun to transform the landscape and return it to its original beauty.

Media: No.8 wire, plywood, paint.
Dimensions (H×W×D): 2400 mm × 400 mm × 100-180 mm

- Private Collection

Ka Wewela (meaning ‘The Intense Heat’ in Hawaiian) represents warmth and power radiating out from the sun.

One-of-a kind, handwoven, copper wire sculpture.

170cm average diameter

- Collection of The Arts House Trust

‘Ao' is one of the many names Māori have relating to clouds and cloud formations. Ao was inspired by a single moment observed in the ever-changing sky over the Auckland isthmus.

One-of-a kind handwoven wire sculpture.  

Materials: 1300m galvanized wire
Technique: Handwoven
Height: 880mm
Width: 920mm
Use: Indoor / outdoor

- Canopy Cancer Care Commission

Cherise:

New copper and steel Korowai commission for Canopy Cancer Care installed in their beautiful new building in Takapuna.

With more than 3000 individual components , this Korowai is part of a limited series of artworks inspired by the memory of my mother - who carried her own precious Korowai around the world for more than 30 years.

Very special thanks to Karen Whiting and her team, and to my assistants on this project - Jack Will and Max McMeiken from James Russ Gallery.

- Private Collection

'Ehu Kai 1+2' artfully installed by architect and author Dr Amanda Hyde de Kretzer, in her beautiful private residence in St Heliers. 

Interior shot by her talented son Marco de Kretzer @bylyrae. 

‘Ehu Kai’ (meaning ‘sea foam’ in Hawaiian) was inspired by a stormy winter beach walk on the north shore of O’ahu.

The larger sculpture dimensions are 105cm high, 97cm wide,  35cm depth...

- Fieldays Commission

In 1968, a group of Waikato farmers offered their local bank a coil of copper wire as collateral, and Fielday's was born. 

Origin '68 seeks to represent the cycle of interconnectedness, inspiration and growth that has resulted from the founders original vision 50 years ago. A huge copper coil with twelve sweeping loops, references the seasonal life of farming and symbolises the many years of dedication by Fielday's volunteers and staff since the inaugural event in 1968.  

Beautiful New Zealand native wood panels, reclaimed from the old Fielday's boardroom, frame the copper coil and evoke the walls of a classic farmers shed. The warmth and beauty of each piece of native timber, a tribute to the many thousands of unique individuals who have built the enduring success of this beloved New Zealand organisation.

Materials: Copper wire, wood
Material Origin: Reclaimed copper communications wire, sourced in New Zealand. 
Reclaimed New Zealand native timber,  sourced from timber that used to line the old Fielday's boardroom. (Rimu, Rewarewa, Tawa, Kajikatea, Totara, Birch, Taraire, Towai, Puriri, Kauri, Beech).

Special thanks to: Peter Nation for the original concept. Reg Laurie and Lance Enevoldsen, for their creative collaboration and expertise. 

- Private Collection

A finalist at this years Waikato Museum Fieldays No 8 Wire National Art Award, After Inflorescence reflects on the beauty and complexity of these coral-like palm branches after flowering.

One-of-a kind handwoven wire sculpture.  

Materials: galvanized wire (4mm & 2mm)
Technique: Handwoven
Measurements: 1759mm x 570mm x 350mm
Use: Indoor / outdoor

- Private Collection

The cycle of interconnectedness is revealed in Whenua – the land, earth or placenta – the afterbirth from Earth’s mother Papatūānuku.

One-of-a kind handwoven wire sculpture.  

Materials: 872m galvanized wire
Technique: Handwoven
Height: 230mm
Width: 870mm
Use: Indoor / outdoor

Korowai now hangs in the Fieldays Boardroom at Mystery Creek, Waikato.

> Watch a brief interview with Cherise while setting up for the Fieldays No.8 National Art Award.

- Fieldays Collection

In 1962 my mother was gifted a beautiful korowai after working at Rotorua's Public Relations Office. She left New Zealand soon afterwards to travel and live overseas. I grew up with this korowai hanging on the wall of every home we lived in, and since inheriting it I have done the same. Wherever we lived in the world it symbolised my mother's love for New Zealand, Māori culture, and her memories of growing up on a sheep farm in Palmerston North with five brothers and sisters. 

My sculpture 'Korowai' is a tribute to my memories of my mother, to the grace and beauty of this traditional Māori art form – and to early settlers like my great grandparents and grandparents who tirelessly attempted to bend and shape the land (and endless spools of No.8 wire) to their will.

Materials: Hand­straightened, 4mm galvanised wire. Hand­tied, 1.6mm looped wire ties & 1mm tie wire [both commonly used for fastening fencing]
Height: 3cm
Width: 3cm
Depth: 2.75cm

- Private Collection

Taniwha Moana is inspired by the guardian ocean spirit that Māori believe traveled with the original canoes from Hawaiki to New Zealand.

One-of-a kind handwoven wire sculpture.

Materials: 700m galvanized wire Technique: Handwoven
Length: 2580mm
Width: 470mm
Use: Indoor / outdoor

- Private Collection

Kina

"I collected Kina on the beach as a child, and I've long admired the surprising beauty and fragility hidden beneath the Kina's spiky exterior."

One-of-a kind handwoven wire sculpture. 

Materials: 300m galvanized wire
Technique: Handwoven
Height: 360mm
Width: 520mm
Use: Indoor / outdoor