Tui Hobson "Va'ine Warrior" Sculpture and Carvings Exhibition

Tui Hobson Exhibition Opening

Tamaki Makaurau artist Tui Hobson’s latest exhibition at The Charlotte Museum Te Whare Takatāpui-Wāhine o Aotearoa draws on her Cook Island heritage and has an emphasis on the feminine form.

This exhibition is a celebration of a sculpture career that has spanned 3 decades and includes pieces from works created in the 1990s through to the present day.

Tui began carving female nudes in a relief format and progressed to sculpting freestanding works that range from small-scale pieces to large outdoor works. Tui works in recycled native woods, stone, cast glass and, most recently, in bronze.

Alongside the androgenous and feminine forms that are present in much of her work we see the enduring influence of the Pacific Islands, in particular the pattern of tivaevae, an art in which Tui’s grandmother was an expert practitioner. Themes of navigation and migration are evident too in many of…