Local artist Rita Hague presents a new series of works, founded in her childhood memories and the personal histories of her family, presenting a snapshot of the everyday lives of the women of her childhood.

‘…all the aunties are now gone, so I agreed to record them in paint, as I remembered them’ - Rita Hague.

Rita Hague - Artist Statement

This body of work came about as the result of a conversation with my daughter about my early memories of my aunties. She said: ‘You need to paint these women!’

I was born in 1943 and all the aunties are now gone, so I agreed to record them in paint, as I remembered them. Most of them lived in Otaki or Lower Hutt, and we left that area when I was 7 years old, so the window of memory is only about 4 years, which is a big ask for me in my 70s. The works are set in the early 1950s, and the passage of time means they are more my impressions, rather than accurate depictions.

My paintings don’t just tell the stories of the women featured, but of how things were for most women in rural New Zealand back then. Most of their time was spent raising children, cooking, washing, gardening and helping out with farm chores. None of my aunties could drive a car, and they had very little free time. Life was often hard for them.

I painted them using bright colours and in a simple format to represent how I saw them and the world at that young age. The images are not painted from photographs, but come straight from my head, a mixture of memory and imagination. I haven’t placed high importance on exact likenesses.

For a long time, I have been drawn to the genre of naive art exemplified by painters such as Lowry and Grandma Moses. More recently, I have been inspired by the stylised realism of New Zealand and Australian artists such as Michael Smither, Trevor Moffit, Russell Drysdale and Sydney Nolan. I love the straightforward honesty of their work – what you see is what you get.

Many of my friends are recording their family history in text. I have chosen to do so in paint. I hope some of the viewers (probably gold card holders) will see elements which trigger memories of their own. If this is the case, then I will have accomplished my goal by sharing a small part of my history.