Through the female lens

Works by notable women photographers including Yvonne Todd, Lisa Reihana, Marti Friedlander and Fiona Pardington will be featured in a new exhibition on show from 2 October in Old Government House at the University of Auckland.

Curated by postgraduate art history students in the University's Art Writing and Curatorial class, Through the Lens: Gendered Reflections is a group exhibition of female photographers from the University of Auckland Art Collection, all of whom are alumnae of the Elam School of Fine Arts.

“Encompassing the period between 1973 to 2017, each artist has developed their own unique perspective, using the camera to deconstruct common conceptions of femininity, identity, and the world around them,” says Sian Abel, a student on the course.

The show is an opportunity for students to experience mounting such an exhibition, with all the associated tasks of curating, catalogue writing, publicity and hanging.

Course convenor, Associate Professor Linda Tyler, is herself an expert in New Zealand art, and was largely responsible for building up the University’s collection in recent decades to include more than 1700 paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures and videos.

These works are mostly on permanent display around various University campuses; among them, highly valuable pieces by significant New Zealand artists that can all be used for teaching and learning.

“The University of Auckland began collecting photography in the early 21st century when many women artists were deploying the medium in preference to painting, which has a loaded history,” says Tyler.

“This exhibition will put documentary photographers alongside those who stage their images and explore how women represent themselves and other women.”
 

Through the Lens: Gendered Reflections will open at Old Government House, 24 Princes Street, on 2 October and run until 2 November. It will be open to the public from 8am to 7pm on weekdays only, and is supported by the Marti Friedlander Trust.

For more information, go to @throughthelens_exhibition.