Artful Narratives and the destruction of the kahikatea forests
The destruction of kahikatea forests in the Hauraki Plains inspired Tāmaki Makaurau artist Toni Hartill’s exhibition Artful Narratives . She has created sculptural artist’s books and art objects that showcase the history of these mighty trees and the importance of caring for the forest remnants. This exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday 2 April until Thursday 2 June 2022, in the Angela Morton Room at Takapuna Library. Due to the uncertainty caused by the current Omicron outbreak, all public artist talks and workshops will be scheduled nearer to the time and announced online . Toni was captivated by the history of the kahikatea swamps of the Hauraki Plains which she discovered while researching an art project about the importance of forest remnants. The kahikatea were cleared to make way for pasture. “I remember as a child being drawn to the sorrowful huddles of the often bedraggled remnants which we passed on the way to visit family - both south to Tauranga, via Waika...