Tamatea - Dusky Sound
In the summer of 2015 we were invited, along with 10 other artists, by New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) to take part in an extraordinary art and conservation residency in Dusky Sound, Fiordland. The journey, the wilderness environment, the experiences and the friendships we shared were significant to us.
Tamatea – Art and Conservation in Dusky Sound was developed by DOC in partnership with Te Rūnanga o Ōraka Aparima, supported by the New Zealand National Parks and Conservation Foundation.
Sound Practice Video
Making this project
We chose to spend a week working alone on Resolution Island - named after Captain Cook's ship Resolution which landed here during Cook's second voyage in 1773 - while the other artists were housed for a week on the boat or at the DOC centre on Anchor Island.
The boat trip proved very exciting with five metre swells as we rounded the heads and made our way through the open sea from Doubtful to Dusky Sound. The bush covered mountains, islands, waterfalls and ocean there are as primal as in Captain Cook’s day.
On Resolution Island we had a small well equipped research/trappers hut to ourselves. Only metres from the high tide line, this hut became a perfect base for five days making environmental sculptures. Two of the sculpture photographs and a video - Sound Practice - became part of the touring exhibition Tamatea – Art and Conservation in Dusky Sound launched at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery in December 2016.
Dusky Sound is a focus of a world class conservation programme to eradicate introduced pest and predator species from sanctuary islands in the Sounds.
Licensing: Sculpture images are licensed for use worldwide
Prints: Fine art prints can be purchased internationally
Copyright: Martin Hill all rights reserved