Little Landmarks
11 August - 12 September 2024, Rangiora Chamber Gallery
For her debut exhibition Little Landmarks, Katie Hallam acts as a reporter from the edges of Waimakariri waterways, and presents works that simultaneously reveal and obscure her observations.
Blending drawing, painting and printmaking, Hallam contemplates the way land and objects on it are shaped over time, and the marks that are left behind as a result. As physical layers intersect and conceal the subject, they refer to the constant stream of messages we receive and navigate, and the layered nature of our shared experience of the world.
Click the link below to visit the virtual exhibition
Opening words (excerpt)
An artist will only have one debut solo exhibition, and for me, almost more important than the work itself is the journey I have been on to get here.
I knew several months ago that this show was going to be based on observations and drawings from our rivers and creeks. There was going to be transparency and shadow play and objects partially obscured.
That’s good, I thought; decision made. But when it came to starting the work, it didn’t come as easily as I’d expected, and the doubt seeped in.
Am I ready for this? Can I do it? The temptation to call the gallery and tell them I wanted to cancel was strong. Then artist friends said,
“Keep going.”
They said
“That feeling (the nausea, the nerves) that you have now, it doesn’t go away, but you get you used to it.
They said,
“You’ll get there."
