Opening of ‘Course of Existence’ Exhibition in FGS South Island
On 20th April 2019, Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch hosted the opening of the ‘Course of Existence’ Pottery and Mixed Media Art Exhibition. The opening ceremony was attended by 30 people from Christchurch, with FGY Art Gallery Christchurch Curator Venerable Abbess Manshin as the guest of honour. This exhibition was jointly put up by Pottery Artist Della Goodinson and Mixed Media Artist Amanda Brooking.
Della uses for her works materials from Christchurch’s beach called Taylor’s Mistake, and she also uses Westcoast Ilmenite from the mines which she incorporates into her works to give them the special layered effect and the unique grains. Whereas, Amanda embraces the Japanese Wabi-sabi approach in her art works and paints on recycled papers New Zealand’s native trees in an unconventional artistic style.
In her speech, Pottery Artist Della Goodinson thanked Gallery Curator Abbess Manshin for the opportunity to hold the exhibition jointly with her good friend Amanda Brooking in FGY Art Gallery Christchurch. Della loves the process of kneading the clay, throwing a pot and then turning it. To her, pottery art has become her life’s driving force. Della’s love of New Zealand’s Nature, be it the sea, the land or the forest, has been a source of inspiration of her works and this inspiration is reflected in her exhibited items.
In her speech subsequent to Della’s, Mixed Media Artist Amanda Brooking spoke of how she has become interested in the natural cycle of growth, decay and death symbolised by the ‘Tree of Life’. At the same time, Amanda also made reference to the daily cycle- morning, afternoon to dusk and the dark of the night, and to the seasonal shifts. She has been intrigued by the beauty of each of these. Recently, Amanda has delved into the study of the life of New Zealand Native Trees and the observation of the variance in their bodily shapes and sizes. Reinforced by her study and observation and adopting the Japanese aesthetic ‘wabi-sabi’ concept, Amanda is able to capture the natural beauty of the native trees in her works which are now on exhibition here.
Gallery Curator Abbess Manshin recounted how Christchurch has suffered the loss of vigour after the earthquake of 2011 and the recent tragic shooting incident on May 15. What Christchurch really needs now is rejuvenation through music and colour. The emanation of visual pleasure and colours by the exhibited art pieces would fulfil this need and would contribute to bringing life back to the City. Abbess Manshin encouraged everyone to treat life seriously and quoted Master Hsing Yun’s ‘The Five Harmonies’ as the important methods to achieve harmony in the following areas: Individual harmony achieved through joy, Family harmony achieved through deference, Interpersonal harmony achieved through respect, Social harmony achieved through cooperation, World harmony achieved through peace. After Abbess Manshin’s speech, the guests were visibly positively energised and have gained a better understanding of life.
The guests attending the opening ceremony held the exhibition in high regard and praised Della and Amanda for their deep thinking and admirable dedication in producing innovative quality art pieces. The ‘Course of Existence’ Exhibition will be held till 12th July 2019 and the Artists hope that it will help in the healing process and bring about positivity to Christchurch after the tragic incident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBGrDCMgp2U