Nadene Milne says it’s been a long-held hope of hers to host an exhibition and talk by Dame Robin — "we’ve known each other for probably 20-odd years".
"Dame Robin has has a 50-year association with McLeavey Gallery, who are based in Wellington, so the opportunity for South Islanders to enjoy Robin’s work has, up until now, been extremely limited."
A highlight of the exhibition will be Dame Robin’s huge collaborative tapa, Life Comes from the Ocean, which has been exhibited at the United Nations, in New York, but never in NZ.
She created the tapa, or bark cloth work, in Fiji, with two Fijian artists specifically for the historic Ocean Conference at the UN in 2017, which was co-hosted by Fiji and Sweden.
The work’s said to be about the interconnectedness of all things. and the central role of the ocean in determining the health of the planet.
Meanwhile, Larkin’s also a highly rated artist whose paintings explore conjunctions between painting, weaving and digital technology.
She’s received regular public and private commissions.
The artists’ talk for the exhibition,"Our Sea of Oceans: Robin White and Peata Larkin", is at Arrowtown’s Dorothy Browns Cinema on May 23 at 6.30pm.
The exhibition opening at neighbouring Nadene Milne Gallery follows at 7.30pm.
