Tabatha on ‘Takeaways’
New Zealand artist Tabatha Forbes is currently showing a collection of works for her first solo show in Rarotonga, ‘Takeaways’, at the BCA Gallery.
Although Forbes has had extensive experience as an artist working with the mediums of photography, video and sound, her focus more recently has been on botanical and natural history. Forbes’ work for the exhibition explores the themes of how plants, creatures and artefacts are valued in the contexts of culture and environment. Forbes commented that the way people understand those values changes over time and is “influenced by things like economics, politics, culture and our environmental understanding of the day.”
Forbes has been living in Rarotonga with her husband and two children this year, after a previous visit to the Cook Islands. It was during her initial visit that the concept for ‘Takeaways’ took shape. “I first came to Rarotonga in 2009 and I started thinking about tourism, trade and souvenirs and this idea of taking something away from a place. Once it’s taken away it almost loses its original meaning. Like in New Zealand we have the Tiki and you can buy plastic, pink Tiki now that are made in China! So the original meaning of that to the Maori in New Zealand is completely lost. I think it’s interesting how perception of these things changes over time.”
The exhibition itself consists of a collection of 15 paintings on plates and 15 paintings on mother of pearl shell, which was a way of presenting the works “as a kind of treasure”. Forbes has also turned the original paintings into a collection of limited edition printed plates (available framed and unframed) and she commented this was “very much an eighteenth century style of presenting collections - which is what I’m kind of referring to.”
The subject of the paintings are various artefacts, animals and plants divided into two categories of things that were taken away from the South Pacific and things that were introduced into the South Pacific. “There are some introductions [featured] in the show that are positive and are now a very normal part of pacific life - like the pig and the goat. We’re very used to that being a part of Pacific life. But there are also introductions like the mynah bird and rat that perhaps are not quite so positive. So it’s just about how over time our understanding and our perception of these things changes.”
For Forbes the show has been a long time coming. “I’ve been planning it since 2009 and working on it for about the last year.” Her delicately detailed paintings are the result of a lengthy process. “They were quite a labour of love - very slow and small detailed work. So it took a long time.” Forbes has tried, wherever possible, to work locally in the preparation for the exhibition and this perhaps was an acknowledgement of respect to the people of Rarotonga who she thanks “for having her”. She also acknowledged the assistance of the BCA Gallery, Jeff Vinicombe of The Photo Studio as well as George and Jenna Tere of Picture Paradise. The exhibition runs at the BCA Gallery until Saturday 12 November, and Forbes will be available to speak with at the Gallery each Monday and Wednesday from 9am to 11:45am for the duration of the show. -Ngariki Ngatae

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