B.
Black Union Jack
Behind the scenes
With the death of Nelson Mandela, the history of the anti-apartheid struggle is being re-examined, including the protest movement that emerged here in New Zealand.
Many New Zealand artists lent their voices and images to that cause, as they have to a range of other campaigns over the years, from condemning nuclear testing in the Pacific and protecting the natural environment to opposing military intervention in the Middle East.
Ralph Hotere Black Union Jack 1984. Etching. Purchased, 1985. Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere
Perhaps the artist whose work is most closely associated with the anti-apartheid movement here is Ralph Hotere. This Black Union Jack etching, made at Ilam in 1984, was one of several works Hotere made referring to New Zealand's controversial ties with the South African government through rugby. This one is ironically dedicated, in Hotere's customary inverted scrawl, 'To the people of SOWETO with love from the NZRFU [New Zealand Rugby Football Union]'. Hotere had earlier used the union jack motif in a painting on canvas in 1979, which he described as a 'banner to decorate the HQ of the NZRFU'.
In another etching in our collection, this one from 1988, Hotere fires off a single, incendiary word: BIKO - a reference to the South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko who founded the Black Consciousness Movement. Arrested countless times and held for several months without charges, Biko was beaten to death in custody in 1977. His name and image became powerful symbols in the fight for equality. Before his death, he founded the Zimele Trust Fund, which provided aid to political prisoners and their families, including Nelson Mandela.
Ralph Hotere Biko 1988. Etching. Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere
Related reading: Ralph Hotere
Exhibition
Hotere: Empty of shadows and making a shadow
22 July – 24 October 2005
An exceptional survey of lithographs by one of New Zealand's greatest artists.
Notes
Ralph Hotere: Ātete (to resist)
The extraordinary exhibition Ralph Hotere: Ātete (to resist) provided Ōtautahi Christchurch audiences with a truly remarkable opportunity to experience artworks by Ralph Hotere at first hand. Ralph was one of Aotearoa’s most talented artists and, significantly for Christchurch, two of his most notable works, Godwit/Kuaka (1977) and Black Phoenix (1984–88), were shown for the first time in the city.
Notes
Ralph Hotere
Hard to believe two years have already gone by since the passing of Ralph Hotere on 24th February 2013. Unlike many public galleries around the country at the time of his passing Christchurch Art Gallery was frustratingly unable to display any works by Ralph from the collection due to our ongoing closure.
Notes
Ralph Hotere (Te Aupōuri) 11 Aug 1931 - 24 Feb 2013
Join us in commemorating the first anniversary of the death of one of New Zealand's most significant and acclaimed artists.
Notes
Black Painting
Ralph Hotere's recognition as a Member of the Order of New Zealand in the New Year was a fitting tribute to an artist whose work has truly reflected social, political and environmental issues relating to New Zealand and the wider international community throughout his career.
Notes
Sangro Litany by Ralph Hotere
The Sangro series, begun in 1962, is a memorial to Ralph Hotere's brother Jack, who fought with the Maori Battalion and whose grave lies among those of hundreds of other young soldiers at the Sangro River War Cemetery on Italy's Adriatic Coast.
Notes
Drawing (KO WAI KOE?) by Ralph Hotere
This article first appeared in The Press on 28 March 2007
Among the highlights of the Christchurch Art Gallery's drawing collection is Drawing (KO WAI KOE?) by Otago artist Ralph Hotere. Produced in 1977 Drawing (KO WAI KOE?) illustrates Hotere's development from his formal geometric approach found in his earlier work of the late 1960s and early 1970s towards the more expressive manner he developed throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Commentary
Ralph Hotere: Ātete (to resist)
Ralph Hotere’s art charted his journeys throughout Aotearoa and the world, reflecting on his experiences, identity and politics. As the first major survey exhibition of Hotere’s artistic career for over twenty years, Ātete celebrates his achievements and brings his vision to a new generation. It’s been a huge project to bring together so we thought it was timely to ask the four curators to tell us a little about their relationship with Hotere – how do they connect as individuals with the artist’s works, and the themes and the locations that they explore?
