McCarthy Gallery is delighted to showcase a series of curated exhibitions by our gallery artists, celebrating contemporary Pacific art. This also presents a unique opportunity for close collaboration with our patrons, partners, and collectors.

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​NEW WORKS | Showing from Friday, 02nd August 2024 Online Exhibition

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Tracy Keith, of the Ngāpuhi tribe in Aotearoa New Zealand.

 

Keith discusses his memories of working in different industry profoundly impacted his way of life and art practice. He incorporates abstracted and organic shapes into his artwork, symbolising elements like bones and sockets, machine parts to convey this experience. Keith observes, “The whakapapa (genealogy) of the industry runs through our blood. 

 

Not everyone can live in their tūrangawaewae (ancestral home) because pursuing work gives us financial benefits but can lead to cultural deterioration." This situation is not unique; many towns in New Zealand were founded to support major industries such as paper mills, smelters, and freezing works. The 

 

Māori and Polynesian workforce often moved there for employment opportunities. While some have stayed, most have transitioned to different industries, and this gives separation to the traditional sense of our uniqueness of being whānau”. 

 

Keith's creations seem to capture the robust industrial roots of these towns. The rough aesthetic of his works mirrors the strain and intensity associated with factory work and life within these locales. Numerous vessels bear the marks of the firing process, cracks and fissures, symbolising the 'breaks' Keith speaks of — the separation many families endured from their ancestral homes to pursue employment elsewhere. Keith, an artist specialising in raku clay, manipulates his creations by stretching, pushing, and moulding, blending organic sensibility with shapes and accents that sometimes echo machinery. He states, "The uneven surface of each piece mirrors the weathered, stratified forms of the land, with industry as an encroaching presence." The fluid glazes and metallic tones bestow a unique personality upon each vessel, symbolising the interplay between industry and whenua (earth). “My uneven surfaces are a reference to the weathered and layered structure of the land, as well as of industry as an intrusive entity.” 

 

In a similar vein, the artist integrates his grasp of whakapapa with the chronology of clay, juxtaposing the traditional Japanese raku firing method against the contemporary techniques of clay development to highlight Keith's penchant for allowing the inherent properties of clay to guide his work, utilising them to express his interpretation of Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview) in the modern era.  

Keith resides in Hastings Hawkes Bay teaches a Bachelor of Māori Art and has a Master of Fine Arts and is passionate about educating people about art and art practices nationally and internationally.

Proudly represented by McCarthy Gallery in Australia.

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