An intriguing and transporting art experience

Transformation is at the heart of a captivating new exhibition which is open at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.

It features the work of Victoria Edwards and Ina Johann, Ōtautahi Christchurch-based artists who have collaborated as ‘Edwards + Johann’ since 2007.

Working together provided the opportunity to push their artmaking into unexpected and exciting new directions says curator Felicity Milburn. 

“Edwards + Johann use a range of different materials and processes – photography, drawing, collage, sculpture and more – often layering these over each other so that their works evolve through multiple states.

“Edwards + Johann: Mutabilities—propositions to an unknown universe combines a selection of works from the last five years with new sculptures – some still in a state of ‘becoming’ – to deliver an intriguing and transporting art experience.”

Artistic residencies, here and in Scotland, France and Switzerland, have been a key part of Edwards + Johann’s practice, providing an opportunity to absorb the atmosphere and history of unfamiliar locations and then use this as a catalyst for artmaking. 

Sutton House

Their new exhibition is shaped by their responses to two very different places – Ōtautahi Christchurch and Whakaari White Island, located near Whakatāne on the east coast of the North Island.

The pair visited Whakaari twice in 2018 as part of the Volcanic Arts Residency and were immediately struck by its dramatic and ever-changing landscape. The following year, the volcanic crater erupted violently, resulting in the deaths of 22 people.

“The unforgettable presence of Whakaari – beautiful, but volatile and constantly transforming – can be felt in almost all the works Edwards + Johann have made over the last five years,” says Ms Milburn.

“Although the landscape was like nothing else they had seen, its atmosphere of perpetual change was strangely familiar – something they recognised from their experiences of living in Ōtautahi Christchurch following the 2010–11 earthquakes. In May, Edwards +Johann completed a month-long stay at Sutton House, an artist residency run by Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, with the support of the Sutton Heritage House and Garden Charitable Trust. 

With materials foraged from the Red Zone, the pair created new sculptures, which include a wall and floor-based sculptural work, Slightly more active than rocks..., and a series of boxed dioramas, containing found objects and crystals that will continue to change and grow over the period of the exhibition.

“Nature – with its capacity to change dramatically in an instant, or across millions of years – is endlessly fascinating to Victoria and Ina,” says Ms Milburn. “This exhibition, and especially these new works, invite us to consider the invisible ways that all things are connected.

Edwards + Johann: Mutabilities—propositions to an unknown universe is on display from until 9 February 2025, alongside another new exhibition, Leo Bensemann: Paradise Garden. Public programming activities include artist-led workshops for kids in the school holidays (sculpture and collage).

Credit: Edwards + Johann Geomorphic Conversation #2 2020-3. Partially hand-coloured photograph. Courtesy of the artists