Language of flowers in full bloom
28 Sep 2021
A stunning new artwork – Ayesha Green’s Kurawaka – has been welcomed to the Christ’s College Old Boys’ Association Art Collection.
Guided by collection curator and Old Boy James Blackie, the CCOBA purchases a new piece each year, with eight outstanding works now placed around the campus.
The latest work takes pride of place in the Miles Warren Building and can be found on the third floor. Fused with strong hues, powerful lines and social significance, Kurawaka captures the indigenous flora collected by botanist Joseph Banks during his voyage on the Endeavour 1768–1771.
Of Ngāti Kahungunu and Kāi Tahu descent, Green weighs the material shifts when working with colonial material – from plant to drawing, etching to print, and book to painting. Green’s detailed botanical art aligns with the Māori personification of nature. In Māori creation stories, Kurawaka is the name of the place where the first person/wāhine, Hineahuone, was formed from earth by the god Tāne.
