From the MTG: Unravelling the monarchy myth

The Harvest, by Ayesha Green. From the collection of Hawke's Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi. Photo / Supplied

MTG Hawke's Bay Museum's Trust collection continues to develop through the purchase of new works and artefacts by the MTG Foundation.

One such recent acquisition was this work The Harvest, by Ayesha Green. This work became part of the collection in December last year and although, with the museum closed at present it is not possible to view it, there are plans for it to be exhibited in the not too distant future.

We are thrilled that the MTG Foundation purchased this work for the collection as Green is of Ngāti Kahungunu, Kai Tahu descent and the work is a positive step towards making purchases that address historical imbalances of gender and ethnicity in the collection.

Green is an artist whose star is definitely on the rise and, although relatively young, has shown in many public art galleries, including Dunedin Public Art where she presented works in a solo show and most recently at Auckland Art Gallery in Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art.

Two portraits of Green's were included in the Toi Tū Toi Ora exhibition; one representing Pania of the Reef and the other of Renata Kawepo, Tama-ki-Hikurangi of Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri and Ngāti Kahungunu. It was great to see visibility given to these famous figures from our rohe, and to see our stories out there in the world.

Not wholly about the stories of the figures in the portraits, Green's artworks are also concerned with the way that images are made and how that impacts the stories they tell. She uses appropriation, often copying well known artworks, to reclaim the significant objects, or people they represent.

As in The Harvest, these are histories often set in the period of first contact between Māori and Pākehā. By painting them in her own hand and style, Green creates an opportunity to re-examine the politic of the era, gently pushing back at accepted perspectives and asking questions about our settler history.

In The Harvest, Green repaints an 1846 portrait of Queen Victoria and her family. Queen Victoria commissioned German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter, to make the portrait and was reportedly thrilled with the final work. Winterhalter's work is indeed a fine celebration of majesty, with attention lavished on jewels and finery to emphasise the family's royal status.

At the time Winterhalter's portrait was painted, Queen Victoria was head of state of Aotearoa New Zealand. That same year, the New Zealand Constitution Act was signed by the British and New Zealand governments. A United Kingdom Act of Parliament, it was intended to grant self-government to the Colony of New Zealand, but it was never fully implemented.

In Green's copy of the portrait, all allusions to status have been pared back, the family's luxurious dresses have lost their shine and their jewels no longer sparkle. Green sees the sovereign family through a deliberately naïve eye, seemingly oblivious to the ideology constructed around the monarchs. Rendering the work in this way poses interesting questions which reframe historical assumptions.

Many of us watched with interest the exposé interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week, another episode in the slow motion unravelling of myth surrounding the British monarchy.

In her reworking of Winterhalter's portrait Green too, is unravelling the myth that surrounds the British monarchy. Green may be asking more pertinent questions however, such as those about nationhood building which authorise us to re-examine our own colonial history.

This is a wonderful work by one of Aotearoa's very best young artists, which we are lucky to have in the collection. In the words of art expert, Roy Dunningham, The Harvest is "a work of its time". Although I suspect, it will continue to have resonance for generations to come.

Toni MacKinnon is art curator at MTG

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MTG Movie Club. Dior & I provides an insight into the Christian Dior fashion house. Tomorrow, Sunday, March 14, 1pm, Century Theatre, Tickets $10 through eventfinda or at MTG.

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