A new exhibition by Marian Maguire called Titokowaru's Dilemma
is currently on show
at the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui,
and continues to be on display in Whanganui until 12 February 2012.
Titokowaru's Dilemma is also opening at PaperGraphica in Christchurch
on Monday 7 November at 5.30pm.
The exhibition in Christchurch continues until 10 December.
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| Marian Maguire, Curio From The Colonial Era, (2010?) Lithograph |
Accompanying the exhibition is a catalogue with contributions by
Elizabeth Rankin, James Belich, Giovanni Tiso, Anne Salmond and Keri Hulme.
"The protagonist of Marian Maguire’s new print series
is an impressive figure of nineteenth-century Taranaki.
Titokowaru was a trained Maori tohunga but a Christian convert;
an advocate of peace but an outstanding military strategist;
a powerful and charismatic leader but one who lost the support of his followers.
This complexity makes him an absorbing subject for Maguire,
whose prints challenge simplistic readings of colonial history.
Maguire develops distinctive imagery drawn from ancient and colonial sources,
combining the bold silhouettes of Greek vase paintings
with the tonal gradations of colonial paintings and photographs.
The colour lithographs of 'Titokowaru’s Dilemma' create fascinating cultural crossovers,
where Titokowaru debates questions about virtue and peace with Socrates and Te Whiti,
Gustavus von Tempsky dies on the battlefields of Troy,
and Venus de Milo is taken captive in a Maori pa.
Equally intriguing are Maguire's etchings
of surprising visitors to local landscapes in 'A Taranaki Dialogue',
and of amorous adventures involving Greek gods,
Maori maidens, satyrs and settlers in 'Colonial Encounters'.
Maguire's visual inventions tease the imagination with human connections across time."
- Elizabeth Rankin
This work will be available on the PaperGraphica website from Monday 7 November.
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