Laura Donkers
SUBSUME
On view: 27 February - 23 March, 2024
Subsume means to absorb something into or cause something to be overshadowed by something else
Subsume explores the legacy of deforestation as a consequence of colonialisation through a collaborative sound work, a set of digital prints, a series of original frottage tree drawings and a series of mixed media drawing-paintings. A collection of music sheets were brought from England in the early 20th Century and bound at Leigh & Sons Bookbinders, High Street, Auckland, in 1906.
This collection of sentimental ballads seem to poignantly express the social conditions of the period and, perhaps, some of the reasoning behind many an immigrant’s quest for a new life in Aotearoa New Zealand. The digital prints comprise of frottage tree drawings made on semi-transparent Japanese paper (Gampi) overlaying the vintage music sheets.
Frottage is a drawing process where mark making is achieved through gentle stroking actions with coloured pastel onto sensitive but resilient paper. These works seek to express the subsuming of Aotearoa’s native ecology by the early settlers through the implication of deforestation for economic and agricultural development that continues its damaging legacy causing desertification and ocean acidification in the present day.
This exhibition, thus, seeks to present the cultural context of early European settlers through nostalgic themes juxtaposed with contemporary audio-visual representations of Aotearoa’s iconic native flora and fauna in recognition of the lingering effects of past actions on our present day.
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Laura Donkers is a multi-media visual artist, curator and independent researcher. Her work mediates complex ideas associated with contemporary, historical and cultural readings of place through a variety of methods, strategies and processes. She employs field-based research, interdisciplinary collaboration and socially engaged activism to explore the interconnections between nature, culture and science. She holds a PhD in Contemporary Art Practice, MA in Art and Social Practice (Distinction), MFA in Art, Society, Publics and BFA Hons in Fine Art (First Class). Her Practice-led PhD research was carried out at University of Dundee and awarded an AHRC scholarship. This work explored collaborative artistic co-creative methods to strategically promote eco-social regeneration for small island communities. This included comparative research visits to Elam School of Art, University of Auckland to learn about Kaupapa Māori from an art context because of its relevance to values, principles and plans as a foundation for action. She received several awards to develop this work further in Aotearoa leading to the development of LimenLab, which delivers eco-art projects that document and promote exchange between society and ecosystems, and thus the connection between human and non-human beings at a time of biodiversity loss and climate change.
