Heap Series | Ruth Thomas-Edmond

Te Tuhi’s Drawing Wall provides an opportunity for artists to work directly onto a main wall at the entrance to the centre. This ongoing project attracts great attention due to its prominent position at Te Tuhi.

Auckland artist Ruth Thomas-Edmond will contribute to the Drawing Wall project with a sculptural installment which utilises both the wall and floor surfaces. Her extremely delicate work is made from remarkably simple materials such as recycled cardboard boxes, PVA and acrylic paint. The durability of these materials allows the artist to slice, paint and liberally arrange her materials into a variety of sculptural forms each time she exhibits.

This exhibition follows several incarnations of the Heap Series, with each Heap varying in size, colour, shape and arrangement. Exhibition Manager Bruce Phillips points out: ‘This is the largest and most complex of all previous incarnations of the Heaps and represents a significant development in her sculptural practice’.

Thomas-Edmond first introduced her sculptures in 2007 in a solo show at her Auckland based art dealer Anna Bibby Gallery. Several re-inventions of this series have taken place over the past few years which include Watery Yellow Heaps at High Street Project, Christchurch, where Heaps of various shades of yellow were set in a dimly lit room. In a similar manner to her Te Tuhi installment, pools of light picked up on subtle transitions in form and colour to cast craggy shadows on the gallery floors.

Heap Series
Ruth Thomas-Edmond
24th April – 20 June at Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts

Artist Talk | Thursday 20 May 1.30
Hear Ruth Thomas Edmond talk at Te Tuhi about her contribution to the Drawing Wall and her broader art practice.