Sanderson are pleased to announce the acquisition of two works by Julia Holderness for the permanent collection at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. The acquisitions are two exhibition photographs - 'Florence Weir in a Garden, Ōtautahi Christchurch' , 2024 and 'Florence Weir in a Room, Ōtautahi Christchurch' , 2024, matted and mounted, that featured in the exhibition Modern Women: Flight of Time at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (10 Aug 24 - 23 Feb 25).
Who is Florence Weir?
Holderness’ exploration and invocation of Florence Weir – Holderness’s alter ego, a nom de plume for the Christchurch-based artist – is more than just an alias. Florence Weir is a symbol: a symbol of women in the art historical and design canon.
“Combining fictional elements with art historical investigation, the project oscillates between representation and production of the past” says Holderness
“Before you enter the exhibition proper, there is this: a frame, two photographs, both mottled with black dots. One image shows a young woman posed in a living room, her face blurred by overexposure. The other depicts a lush, overgrown garden, with a woman crouched and barely discernible amidst the flurry of branches and dots. These are the only photographs of Florence Weir, the only New Zealand artist to attend the Bauhaus art school. And yet, the wall label tells us they were taken this year. How is this possible?
The answer lies with the photographer, contemporary artist Julia Holderness, who has invented Weir – her artworks and her history – as a “device to facilitate connections that go beyond recorded histories and fill gaps.” Holderness invites audiences to consider the construction of identity, artistic or otherwise, and the elusiveness of women artists in a canon compiled primarily by men. Slippery and smart, Holderness’s photographs are an intriguing entrée to an exhibition that challenges the homogeneity of how we tend to show the past .”
– Lucinda Bennett, 2024, The Spinoff.
Photographs courtesy of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
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