Lianne Edwards
Beauty and chaos, transience and permanence are key phrases in Lianne Edwards’ analysis
of nature and its mindless destruction by humankind.
Lianne Edwards’ background as a marine biologist and a creative artist serves to position her at the forefront of eco artists in New Zealand.
Her interest in both science and art finds its voice in artworks that make comment on our relationship with the natural world. All too often humankind is found wanting in any examination of our interaction with nature. Edwards’ work, often microscopically delicate, or alternatively, commanding a strong physical presence, tells the story of a world at war with itself. With a focus on the ocean and seashore, Edwards confronts us with our own weapons of destruction which are deployed in artworks that lead the way in contemporary social conscience art in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Lianne is of Pacific ancestry, specifically of Tongan descent. Brought up in South Auckland, her paternal grandmother, Aurora Amy Longi (Young) came to New Zealand from Tonga in the 1920s. Aurora married a pakeha New Zealander and remained in New Zealand for almost thirty years. She returned to Tonga in the 1950s where she spent the last years of her life until her death.
Lianne has work in the collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Chartwell Collection,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, James Wallace Arts Trust and many private and public collections.
Rise of the Jellies I, 2019, 1040 x 1040 mm (framed), Materials: Plankton Net, bird leg bands (Wandering albatross), fish otolith, coins, swordfish bill
Rise of the Jellies II, 2019, 900 x 900mm (framed), Materials: Plankton Net, bird leg bands (Wandering albatross), fish otolith, coins, swordfish bill
Rise of the Jellies III, 790 x 790mm (framed), Materials: Plankton Net, bird leg bands (Wandering albatross), fish otolith, coins, sharks teeth (Tokelau reused), South Seas pearl shell, swordfish bill
Sea Kraits, Swordfish bill, buoy, coir, fishing nylon, ink
Sea Kraits (detail), Swordfish bill, buoy, coir, fishing nylon, ink
Number 201, Mililla, 2019, 920 x 920mm, Materials: Brass-encased freezer thermometers (from vessel No.201 Melilla), perspex, vinyl, plankton net, fish otolith (hoki)
(detail) Number 201, Mililla, 2019, 920 x 920mm, Materials: Brass-encased freezer thermometers (from vessel No.201 Melilla), perspex, vinyl, plankton net, fish otolith (hoki)
IUU, 2019, 920 x 920mm
(detail) IUU, 2019, 920 x 920mm
The Wanderer of the South, 2019, 910 x 685mm
12 Chicks, 4 Adults, 2019, Materials: bird leg bands (wandering albatross), 345 x 700mm
(detail) 12 Chicks, 4 Adults, 2019, Materials: bird leg bands (wandering albatross), 345 x 700mm
$2 Turtle, 865 (d) Plankton Net, 1oz silver coin (Nuie, 2018), one pennies (Fiji), swordfish bill, Albatross leg bands, re-used sharks teeth (Kiribati), coir, perspex, vinyl
(SOLD) $5 Tuna, 900mm (d) Plankton Net, 1oz silver coin (Tokelau, 2015), 1/2 pennies (Fiji), swordfish bill, Albatross leg bands, re-used sharks teeth (Kiribati), coir, perspex, vinyl
(SOLD) $5 Tuna, 900mm (d) detail
(SOLD) Aristotle Was Here I, 800x1380mm, Plankton net, Fish Vertebrae, Aristotle's Lantern (Kina, Evechinus, sea urchin), vertebral disc (pilot whale), beach cast seaweed & mussel spat, data recording
(SOLD) Half Life, 850 x 1455mm, Plankton net, fish otolith, beach cast plastics, resin
(SOLD) Plankton, 665mm(d), Plankton net, beach cast plastics, brass
The Plankton Series (detail), Plankton net, beach cast plastics, brass
(SOLD) Aristotle Was Here II, 830 x 1450mm
(SOLD) The Chicks, the swordfish & the squid, 840 x 1460mm
(SOLD) The scale of things, 830 x 1450mm
Sky City Friday, 555 x 965mm, mixed postage stamps, pins (framed)
(SOLD) Aggregation (World Stamps) detail, 830 x 880mm
(SOLD) 680 x 680mm
18 February, 2017
Delicate art reflects our fragile oceans
NZ Herald. Read online here.
18 November, 2009
Philately rollercoaster
eyeCONTACT. Read online here.
COMING UP
2019
8–12 May BRIGHT NIGHTS