And only sea, 2019
And only sea acknowledges and celebrates the civic and literary work of J. C Sturm. The artwork includes a poem written by Sturm, titled On the building site for a new library, published in 1996. Her poem references the history of this site and the changes it has seen since the land was reclaimed.
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Sturm worked as a librarian at the Wellington Central Library for over 20 years. She was one of the first Māori women to complete an undergraduate degree, the first Māori woman to attain an MA in Philosophy and one of the first Māori women to appear in print.
For this project, Mataaho Collective collaborated with graphic designer Andre Te Hira. His font was influenced by the geometric forms of tukutuku and tāniko. The poem is rendered within a Pātikitiki pattern that is synonymous with flounder and represents subtidal coastal areas.
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70m x 3m
Vinyl printed on wooden hoarding
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Thank you to the whānau of J. C Sturm, and the Literary Executor of Jacqui’s Estate for their permission and support on this project.
Our deep appreciation to the graphic design skills of Andre Te Hira who also produced our Mataaho logo on the top left of this page.
Courtesy of the artists, commissioned by the Wellington City Council.
Image credits: Wellington City Council
And only sea - Mataaho Collective and Andre Te Hira
The artists explain how they created the new public artwork “And only sea” around the Central Library on Victoria Street. Designed by Mata Aho Collective in collaboration with Andre Te Hira it renders a poem by former librarian and poet J. C. Sturm, also known as Jacquie Baxter.
A video produced for Wellington City Council.