Original members in TSH Tory St, 2013
L-R:Matthew McIntyre Wilson, Jhana Millers, Nadine Smith, Hilda Gascard, Sarah Read, Tara Brady, Viv Atkinson, Peter Deckers, Suni Hermon. Not pictured: Kelly McDonald

Anniversary Show

Group show by original members

July 27th - September 20th 2020

Ten years!  The time has flown and we think now is a great opportunity to celebrate and get the original founding members back together.  Initially the group were all jewellers and their shared interest was in exploring the most experimental aspects of what contemporary jewellery could be; its materiality, its scale, its relation to the body and how it occupied space.  The See Here allowed these experiments to be tested in a safe, but public location. It fostered robust discussion and critique of new work in a supportive environment – this continues to be one of the most important aspects for the current members.

As a group, the original members were also testing the space, direction and growth of their individual practices. When moving forward (or sideways), the need to move on arises – new opportunities, changes of direction and sometimes the necessity to take a break. People left for various reasons.

This Anniversary Show is a chance to see what changes have happened and to reflect on the place The See Here has had for these artists. 

Matthew McIntyre Wilson [Taranaki, Ngā Māhanga and Titahi] 

One of my first See Here exhibitions included a combination of round woven copper forms and the beginnings of my Poi Kura necklaces [above] and brooches.  

My practice of weaving in copper and silver originated from an interest in the form and pattern of raranga whakairo. Combined with my formal training as a jeweller, I produce finely woven kete [woven baskets], arms bands, hīnaki [eel traps], kākahu [cloaks] and tātua [belts].

Research based in museum store rooms and library archives provides the opportunity to examine the technical making of Toanga Māori. Of particular interest to me is the creation and variation of complex woven patterns; the variation of pattern in my work is a reflection of a continuing investigation and exploration of the whakapapa of weaving.

I am almost at the end of the Tylee Cottage residency in Whanganui.  My main outcome of the residency was to take all the strands connecting my whakapapa, much like a net-work of tributaries and create objects that explore customary Māori net making technologies.  I have spent time along the Whanganui River, observing the details of it and gathering materials.

The first harvest of Harakeke was done at Ātene Marae which was the primary material used in this Peke mau tuna [holding bag,  harakeke, rata vine, 2020 ] :

Peke like this would have been used to hold eels when the hīnaki were full and then immersed in the water while waiting for the whole catch to be brought in.

The residency has provided me the opportunity for focused making and further development of this larger sculptural work.  There are still elements of jewellery making and weaving while remaining connected to a Māori Kaupapa. 

Matthew McIntyre Wilson, September 2020

Tara Brady

The See Here is a vibrant and shifting creative community I’ve enjoyed being involved with over the past 10 years. First conceived of by Suni Hermon, I loved the idea of the egalitarian nature of the space. The level of engagement is determined by the viewer, requiring none of the perceived airs and graces of crossing the threshold of a more formal gallery. Installing work into the confined space has made for some memorable times as people stop to comment, point, laugh, chat and critique. In particular, our earliest space in Candywhistle in Newtown seemed to invite this community engagement.

For me The See Here has been an anchor to an ongoing practice no matter what other diversions life is delivering. It has been a home to the whims of making, a safe place to explore, and an outlet to try new ideas and mediums. A hearty thank you to all the artists and supporters of The See Here over the years. 

Tara Brady, September 2020

Sarah Read

Not holding my breath

I can’t recall how I started this business with the salvaged paper and the tiny fires, but it was way back when unprecedented was fresh. Bushfires were decimating Australia’s wildlife, and I needed something to do with my hands so I could sit with that unbearable news. Our senior dog had started peeing on the rugs so we were burning incense to mask the Dettol. It sparked from there, somehow.

And since then, all the other news.

Becky Richards’ essay On Crafting and Coping (eloquent, pertinent; well worth a read) explains why it’s currently so hard to do anything requiring conceptual thought (eg write a cogent artist statement), whilst repetitive, manual tasks with predictable rhythms (eg light a fire, blow it out, repeat all day) remain accessible (compulsive even), existential dread notwithstanding.

The conceptual thinking will return (or maybe it won’t). For now I simply relish:

• the textures (rich, vital, tactile)

• the smell (currently sandalwood, formerly cinnamon, rose)

• the audio books (thank you, Wellington library, from afar)

• the potential (because paper)

It’s OK, We Got This (2020). Takeaway delivery bags

It would be hard for me to overstate my love for The See Here. A gallery you can’t enter, showing work you can’t buy, made by artists who can’t help it. That it’s still thriving now at 10 years is down to good bones; it was born of a clear vision (thank you, Suni) that had been honed in the thrill and rigour of Whitireia’s unparalleled jewellery programme (thank you, Peter, Kelly, Viv). Through changes in venue and membership the core ethos is unaltered. For exhibiting artists, it’s a city-centre space with no gatekeepers and a like-minded tribe/support crew who slipstream each other to keep the show on the road. For viewers it’s part of Wellington’s rich street life, offering up eclectic goodness, rain or shine, 24/7, and for free.

Here’s to the next 10 years.

Sarah Read, September 2020

Kelly McDonald

In 2018 I returned to study after 20 years, as a result my work has begun to investigate new concerns. The following pieces reflect some of these ideas, melding the narratives of home, workshop and motherhood to explore power and gender and the subtle and sometimes not so subtle burden they place on women. My work continues to draw on the previous function of objects collected from domestic, industrial and utilitarian realms, and whereas my concerns were previously broader, these jewellery re-contextualisations now aim to traverse the tense and complex territories between people, bodies and things. 

The See Here has been fundamental to my jewellery making journey across the last ten years. It travelled the distance with me (and I with it) all the way from a long making hiatus as Mum of 3, to completing my Masters of Fine Arts last year. TSH has been inextricably linked to many aspects of my life, but if I pull out the highlights, they include; its uniquely non-commercial street frontage which importantly for me, allows for a more direct dialogue with an audience, its continuing consolidation of a creative community and its initiative in the face of dwindling ambition and vision within craft/arts education.

Kelly McDonald, August 2020

Below: Turn me on (and off) 2020. Brooch, chrome plated hot and cold tap tops, steel

Vivien Atkinson

An Elizabethan Ruff in the Time of a New Plague is a work made in response to the continuing outbreaks of Covid across the world.  In the distant past, masks were stuffed with aromatic herbs designed to purify the air and prevent the ‘miasma’ that caused illness being breathed.  Today, understanding the mechanism of viral transfer, we again rely on the barrier created by the humble mask, but their disposable nature (I was told they should be replaced every 4 hours) is the source of another kind of plague.

TheSeeHere has played a vital part in helping me to develop a continuing practice.  It has provided a space for exhibiting experimental and non-commercial works that are the basis of much of what interests me.  I’m deeply grateful to all the members, past and present for the camaraderie and encouragement and for the stimulation and excitement their works bring into my life.

Vivien Atkinson, August 2020

Peter Deckers

This binary work illustrates my state after a long run of creative and supportive adventures which somewhat eclipsed my own art practice. The pressing responsibilities of my part-time job as tutor and the demands of running the CNZ-funded Handshake Project required that my controlling left-brain take over from my more chaotic creative right-brain.

I went back to basics by forcing my brain to respond to the two hemispheres concept. I made two necklaces: one with the ‘controlling’ left brain and one with the ‘opportunistic’ right brain. My left-sided brainwork was meticulously planned and involved time-consuming precision; a ridiculous number of miniscule engravings filled with my allocated colour for this show.  My right sided brainwork, on the other hand, was quickly made without a plan and without effort; by chance, speed, and poetry. 

My years with TSH gave me many opportunites to explore jewellery beyond the body. Jewellery for me is more than decoration and lends itself to investigating human conditions and situations.

For the last 35 years my work has focussed primarily on how perceived valuee is created, manipulated, corrupted and maintained. I’ve aimed to reach beyond jewellery’s decorative assertions by using all kind of materials and subjects to unfold stories in political, social and environmental realms. However, lately I’ve felt that this ‘concern to reveal’ was disconnected from my creative impulses. The current political destruction of the craft/art education in NZ, and the corona isolation have also had an effect. Instead of fighting my situation, I went with it in order to bring back the depths and joy of discovery and making. In the short term this has helped, but still deep down is a hurt that most likely needs more doldrums time

Peter Deckers, 2020

Jhana Millers

The See Here was an important starting point in my arts career and filled a gap that was left after graduating from Whitiriea. Initiated by Sunni Hermon, the See Here provided all of its members with valuable exhibition experience, alongside gallery management and administration skills. As an artist-run space, we would meet monthly to discuss the exhibition calendar, the various tasks that needed to be carried out and most importantly, it provided a community and support network of like-minded people that continues today. After 8 years in The See Here, I transitioned from an artist and arts administrator/facilitator to opening my own contemporary art gallery — Jhana Millers Gallery.

Located in central Wellington, we showcase compelling and innovative contemporary art and promote emerging New Zealand artists. To date we have exhibited the work of several current and former members of The See Here and jewellers from Whitireia, including Moniek Schrijer, Sam Kelly and Caitlin Devoy — amongst many other artists. We will continue to work with artists from Whitireia as well as the other art schools to help them further develop their careers.

Jhana Millers, 2020

Jhana Millers Gallery

Level 1, Mibar Building, 85 Victoria Street, Wellington Wednesday – Friday, 11 – 5pm, Saturday, 11 – 4pm

021 1670 896 | jhana@jhanamillers.com | jhanamillers.com

Suni Hermon

Above: Untitled, Brooch, 2020. Copper, cardboard, pin

Below: Untitled, Brooch, 2020. Copper, pin

My involvement with The See Here began with kitchen table conversations and email threads between the nine inaugural members as we collaged together a framework and structure for the first ‘micro-gallery’ and online home for TSH in 2010.

Ten years ago taking time to make was a necessary part of my routine, and the opportunity to be part of a collective of makers through TSH had a profound impact on my work and sense of place within the community of jewellers here in Aotearoa and beyond. 

Making this work for the 10th-anniversary show has perfectly reflected elements of the early days of TSH as it came together. I have made these pieces on my kitchen table utilising material and time I was able to find in my now vastly reduced workspace, while helping to plan the structure and logistics of the anniversary show with TSH past and present members from a distance via email and phone (and a little in person). A familiar space to occupy again. 

These two brooches pick up on method, form and material that follow on from my last period of making a few years ago. 

Thank you to all the members and contributors of The See Here over the last ten years for all that you do with this space and beyond.

Suni Hermon, July 2020

Nadine Smith

Hold On: Sculpture and animation, 2020. Driftwood hand, shells, brass cast Action Man hands

The phrase  ‘no man is an island’ expresses the idea that human beings do badly when isolated from others and need to be part of a community in order to thrive.   This too applies to artists whose work is often made in isolation.  I was part of the The See Here for approximately 8 years.  This kept me connected to a creative community with friends made at Whitireia studying under Peter Deckers.  The format allowed us to create experimental shows with the benefit of feedback and support from a diversely talented group of people.   Together, the shared energy meant our individual and mutual visions could be realised with a hearty amount of fun and laughter.   When selected for Handshake 4 I found I was spreading myself too thinly and I left The See Here to create space for another artist to benefit. 

Today I juggle ophthalmology nursing, help parents negotiate health/life challenges and make stuff from home whenever I have time.  I’m fortunate my partner and technical assistant David is like a rock who keeps me grounded.   There is also our cat Biscuit, a reluctant Instagram star, constant lap warmer and overseer of projects.

I like to take walks, over hills, by the sea - wherever nature’s presence is strongest.  This gives my imagination the breadth of space to float freely and for ideas to surface.  It fuels my body and soul.  Photography is central to my practice and I take delight in capturing images along the way.  I like to see the possibility in all things and salvaged materials frequently provide the basis to give my imagination free reign.  Like a seagull I fossick for treasure in the debris laid out by the incoming tide.   Back in my studio my head, hands and heart play out and process the world around me. 

Being able to make stuff in these challenging times has been a way to hold fast to my creative self.  I’ve just sent a piece off to Atta Gallery in Thailand that is to be part of their group show in August and am currently working towards an online show with Occupation: Artist for Gallery Faux.  I’m merging images I’ve taken from nature with sculpture made from recycled metal. Placed in an environment the pieces will take on a new existence.  I'm excited about this new direction and am taking this one step further with exploratory steps into the world of stop motion animation.

I have a great respect and concern for our fast changing natural environment.  I feel an urgency for us to decide what is important and of value as human beings. 

Nadine Smith, August 2020 www.nadinesmith.co.nz