Elizabeth Thomson - Cellular Memory

For over three decades, Elizabeth Thomson’s art has engaged with issues to do with science, imagination, culture and, increasingly, what it means to live in the South Pacific region in the 21st century. Cellular Memory is a nationally touring exhibition that presents some of the most seductive and lyrical, yet often perplexing, works produced in New Zealand during that period.

The works also speak of such timely concerns as global warming, over-fishing of oceans, pollution and environmental degradation. Thomson asks fundamental questions such as: How does humanity fit within the broader world of nature; and to what extent are we are a part of, or distinct from, our environment? Rather than offer simple answers, her works elicit feelings, states of being, reminding us of P. A. Tomory's assertion that 'sensation not fact is the stimulant of the true visionary'.

A highly illustrated publication coincides with the major survey exhibition Elizabeth Thomson – Cellular Memory with essays from Gregory O’Brien and Lloyd Jones, poetry Jenny Bornholdt.

Image: Elizabeth Thomson, Delta, 2009, glass spheres, optically clear epoxy resin, aqueous isolation, lacquer on wood panel