Talisman Project invites viewers in

ENGAGING: The Talisman Project is about engagement where visitors can walk through, touch and get inside sculptural works. Photo/file

THE first thing people usually notice when they go to a public art gallery or museum are signs that say "please do not touch the art". With the new exhibition The Talisman Project, upstairs at the Tauranga Art Gallery on the corner of Wharf and Willow Streets, this works a little differently.

Visitors can walk through the largest piece in the exhibition, called the Talisman, and they can also touch or get inside the smaller sculptural works if they like.

This exhibition is all about engagement.

The Talisman Project is an ongoing collaboration between two artists, contemporary jeweller Mia Straka and object maker Roger Kelly.

Their aim is to broaden and challenge their individual practices and respective audiences.
The project's interactive nature facilitates a dialogue between audience and artists in an exchange of ideas around value, meaning, and function.

"I am committed to designing for the needs of today where function, space, diversity, sustainability and narrative are paramount," says Roger Kelly.

"Design is not just about styling, it is an intellectual process and a response to changing needs, and challenges our perception of how we live and work."

Kelly, who was originally trained as an engraver in the mid 1980s, learned the skills of creating textured two-dimensional patterns and a variety of manufacturing processes at that time.

Mia Straka fuses her love of metalworking and thoughtful design to create beautifully constructed contemporary jewellery.

"My way of working is driven both conceptually and by process," she says.

"Some pieces seem to grow as I make them, the construction delineating the form.

"Other works are carefully planned and designed before fabrication begins, always with an open mind to development and adaption."

Recently, Straka's practice has evolved to include large-scale sculptural work, installations and collaborations, of which The Talisman Project is a good example.

Another part of The Talisman Project is a series of photographs by photographer Danilo David Santana of the cast bronze figures created by Mia. They have been encapsulated, protected and given a status of a talisman as they are being held in the hands of the maker.

At the end of the exhibition, which has been brought to Tauranga with the generous support of the Friends of the Gallery, the artists have set up a workstation where visitors can create their own talisman, either to take home or to hang up so it can become part of the exhibition.

There are pieces of hemp cord, offcuts of rubber tubing, straws, and other materials that have been used in the exhibition for people to use creating a personal talisman.

We'd like to encourage people to use the materials we have left on the table to create their own good luck charm, or just to have fun with the materials.

Mia Straka

"There is a lot of symbolism throughout the exhibition, and we hope it will make people think about the works and perhaps spend a bit more time in the space," she said.