Simone Magner, Zepher I
Simone Magner
Ngati Awa/Ngati Maniapoto
Date
2005
Medium Specific
Lambda print on metallic paper
Classification
Photograph
Dimensions
13 3/4 x 20 in. (34.9 x 50.8 cm)Framed: 20 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. (52.1 x 72.4 cm)
Accession Number
2020.20.10.09
Credit
Gift of the Artist
Memo / Artist Statement
For me, art making represents freedom on a cathartic level. I find the ritual of art making validation of ‘passion spent’, in an investigation of personal knowledge. I find the artistic sequences of my process to be liberating, as the vehicle of self-discovery and recognition of my cultural identity.
My works are a personal journey of self-knowledge, and my photography is a visual record, acknowledging: my persona, the reclamation of my cultural base, my inherent birthright, and interpersonal relationships. I draw inspiration from my own mixed cultural heritage and experiences from other cultural bases. I represent spirituality as presented to me from a childhood Anglo perspective, combined with a newly discovered Māori spiritualism, based on cosmology and Māori oral histories. My artworks express events in my life and knowledge I am acquiring on my journey.
I begin a piece by sourcing old family and childhood photographs. These visual resources are evidence of my personal background, and are employed as pneumonic prompts to evoke a state of mind, to embark on my quest for self-identity. When I am working in the field of photographic image making, I am reminded that as manipulator of scenarios, I am able to construct my own interpretation of personal histories. I want the artistic devices and manipulations I employ in my work, to convey a sense of enlightenment, as reflective of my own response to reconnecting with my cultural base – Whānau (family), Hapū (extended family) and Iwi (tribe). I know a piece is finished, when I feel the image encapsulates all the intangible elements that I cannot express in any other manner.
April, 2006
My works are a personal journey of self-knowledge, and my photography is a visual record, acknowledging: my persona, the reclamation of my cultural base, my inherent birthright, and interpersonal relationships. I draw inspiration from my own mixed cultural heritage and experiences from other cultural bases. I represent spirituality as presented to me from a childhood Anglo perspective, combined with a newly discovered Māori spiritualism, based on cosmology and Māori oral histories. My artworks express events in my life and knowledge I am acquiring on my journey.
I begin a piece by sourcing old family and childhood photographs. These visual resources are evidence of my personal background, and are employed as pneumonic prompts to evoke a state of mind, to embark on my quest for self-identity. When I am working in the field of photographic image making, I am reminded that as manipulator of scenarios, I am able to construct my own interpretation of personal histories. I want the artistic devices and manipulations I employ in my work, to convey a sense of enlightenment, as reflective of my own response to reconnecting with my cultural base – Whānau (family), Hapū (extended family) and Iwi (tribe). I know a piece is finished, when I feel the image encapsulates all the intangible elements that I cannot express in any other manner.
April, 2006