The great Dames of the visual arts make a grand presence in a recent film by Gaylene Preston.
I was so impressed by Gaylene Preston’s powerful collaboration and exploration of Robin White’s philosophy and art practice that after discussing the film with story editor, Jude Galtry, she suggested I write a brief review from the standpoint of a practising artist.
I think this outstanding movie goes to the depth of Robin White as a person, an artist, and to her sense of place.
Gaylene Preston was a year ahead of me at Canterbury’s Ilam School of Art. We were both in the painting department in the late 1960s. I suspect Gaylene’s beginning in painting might have helped the easy flow and connection between the artist and the filmmaker, giving the film its exciting vitality.
Robin White’s work as a painter and printmaker is well known for its strong iconic imagery now embedded in New Zealand’s cultural history. Her early work even has a strong presence in Paekākāriki, where I now live (see reference below).
Instead of the traditional framework of her early painting and printmaking for which Robin is best known, this film focuses on her more challenging, collaborative work. It is especially her Kiribati work that demonstrates the risky processes involved in the use of free-flowing dyes on large, free-hanging Tapa cloth. Robin’s heartfelt issues, such as climate change and what this means for Kiribati and for all of us, are evident throughout.
I feel it is this emotional connection emphasised by Gaylene’s use of archival footage that makes this film so powerful.
We see the historic evidence of the shooting of Japanese prisoners in the Wairarapa, where Robin now lives. Her process in developing large, almost monochromatic, panels that reflect this tragedy is also shown.
Most of the audience could not help but feel tearful when both Gaylene Preston and Robin White were confronted by the footage of the aftermath of the dropping of the Bomb on Hiroshima.
Robin White’s collaboration with calligrapher Taeko Ogawa reveals their source of inspiration – the Hiroshima panels by Iri and Toshi Maruki , which were made over 32 years, from 1950 to 1982. These amazing, large panels express the brutality of war, with imagery that is almost too hard to absorb.
This film highlights how Robin White’s underlying humanity and connection to place demands her total involvement with her practice.
Importantly, it is the bond and alliance between these two visual artists that helps make this film the success that it is.
Reference to Robin White’s Paekākāriki connection https://paekakariki.nz/robin-white-te-papa-exhibition-and-paekakariki-connection/
Gerda Leenards: Here comes the ocean-Kapiti 2002 760x1520mm acrylic on canvas
