Dismantling the Land by Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge
- Exhibition dates: Wednesday 27 March to Sunday 14 April 2024
- Opening times: 10am - 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday
- Location: Rockingham Arts Centre, 11 Kent Street, Rockingham
- Room: Main gallery
- Cost: Free entry
- Closing Event: Sunday 14 April, 1pm - 2pm. Register for the Closing Event.
- Artist Talk: Sunday 14 April, 2pm -3pm. Register for the Artist Talk.
Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge is of Ngáti Maniapoto descent and her practice is centred on the indigenous experience of spiritual connections to the land, waters and mountains. Her work cleverly unpacks the effects of colonialism through the use of colour and materiality. Exploring themes of cultural identity and loss of culture, this new body of work utilises truck tarpaulins as a tool to discuss how land is travelled and experienced. In their usual use, truck tarpaulins cover and protect but when used in this context Mansbridge is highlighting the importance of preservation of culture and land.
About the artist
Born in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge now resides on Walyalup country (Fremantle). Her creative arts practice is key to her storying. She engages with issues of culture and colonisation. Working to explore her cultural understanding Mansbridge paints the land as an extension of who she is, acting as a conduit through to her indigenous heritage. In 2018, Mansbridge completed a Creative Doctorate, “The Cross-Cultural Corridor: Performing Māori/Pākehā Identities” at Curtin University. She also holds a Masters of Arts (Visual Arts), with distinction, and a Bachelor of Arts (Art) (Honours) First Class, from Curtin University. In 2014, 2018 and 2022, Mansbridge presented papers at Indigenous conferences in New Zealand, Canada and Australia. She has exhibited consistently for 20 years in Australia and abroad. Mansbridge has gallery representations in New Zealand, Ireland and France and has been the recipient of numerous art awards.
Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge, Folded into Two Worlds, 2024, synthetic polymer on truck tarpaulin, dimensions variable. Image credit: Aaron Claringbold.