Christopher Duncan and Joseph Yen with Kate Fitzharris

Trusting Our Hands

Christopher Duncan and Joseph Yen, both hailing from Auckland, bring the art of what textile scholar Jane Malthus describes as “geometric abstraction” to their “cloths and garments”. These creations are complemented by the work of Dunedin ceramics artist Kate Fitzharris, including a set of hand-formed necklaces. For Kate, “objects … can contain something of our experiences, our memories of the past or our hopes of the future”. All three artists are concerned with the way the art object has the potential to become part of our daily life – in Malthus’ words, they are “dedicated to slowing the mad pace of city life that has lost touch with natural rhythms”. They ask us to observe our surroundings, including the clothes that cover us and the objects with which we live – to question the nature of an ever-proliferating mass-produced consumer culture, divorced from human touch, by offering an alternative. Joseph Yen comments: “When a piece is hand-made and not mass-produced, every single piece is different. I think something you use every day should be beautiful.” He further elaborates: “The clothing that we make… it’s not mass-produced; we make each one ourselves, so you can call it an art piece.”

Christopher Duncan, one of the most prominent weavers of his generation, has exhibited extensively in New Zealand, including the Pah Homestead, and Objectspace. He was awarded Dame Doreen’s Gift (Blumhardt Foundation) in 2018. His work is held in the collection of Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira. Joseph Yen, in addition to practicing his own craft constructing unique pieces of clothing and jewellery, runs a small gallery, Tür, on Karangahape Road. Kate Fitzharris is an award-winning ceramicist. Her honours include a recent residency at Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park (Japan, 2019), with funding provided by the Blumhardt Foundation and Creative New Zealand.