He Taonga Tonu te Wareware - forgetfulness is to be reckoned with always

Artist: Vanessa Wairata Edwards (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahu)
Location: Sheaff Gallery

Social Amnesia is the concept of collective forgetting by a group of people. This collective forgetting often occurs after trying and difficult times; there is a tendency for society to ignore painful parts of history when discussing the present and more importantly, informing the future. In this provocative exhibition, Wairata Edwards explores the painful recollections of our colonial past in drypoint print and sculpture. The artist implore us not to pretend that unpleasant parts of our country’s whakapapa never happened, but to own our collective truth. Urgent discussion is being had around the world right now about the memorialising of disputed historical events, and what ‘makes’ history.

Social Amnesia is part of this conversation of difficult questions. “These works are by no means a resolution to the discussion, nor a map to resolution. Instead, they act like the pou whakairo, tukutuku, or kowhaiwhai in our wharenui, collectively activating the space to encourage a response from the viewer’s individual knowing. To reclaim who we are is to speak our truth.” - Vanessa Wairata Edwards