Open Carrel
Taarati Taiaroa >

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"The archive cannot be described as a whole but as parts…
The result or discovery of information is unpredictable until the process is complete. " [1]

Open Carrel presents an evolving assembly of archive drawings produced through the activity of list making, based on the artist's ongoing research to compile an official list of bounties from New Zealand history.

Bounties were negotiated by four key industries associated with our national image; the great outdoors, conservation, game hunting and farming. "The Auckland Acclimatization Society humbly said in 1953 that it was getting most of its vermin tokens from children; the society targeted the schools with publicity to encourage their involvement, running competitions for vermin destruction during the school holidays. Often it was small boys, who were adept at trapping eels, or retrieving noses from hedgehogs that had been killed on the roads." [2]

A platform for on-going research practice carried out during the mid-semester break, content will be added to throughout the show.

[1] Foucault, Michel. 'The Historical a priori and the Archive (1969)', in Merewether Charles (ed.). The Archive/ Documents of Contemporary Art. London: the MIT Press and Whitechapel (2006) pp.29

[2] McDowell, R.M. Gamekeepers For the Nation: the story of New Zealand's acclimatisation societies 1861 - 1990. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press (1994) pp.119