Living Halls | Fiona Jack

Fiona Jack’s exhibition Living Halls examines the symbolism and role of memorial halls in both historic and contemporary New Zealand society. The paintings, drawings, honour boards, documents, photographs and recordings that make up Living Halls are the result of an ambitious and ongoing research project by Jack who has studied and catalogued hundreds of war memorial halls. These halls, now a vernacular tradition, were built following the Second World War with the help of Government subsides as ‘living memorials’ to honour dead soldiers and at the same time provide spaces for community gatherings.