Bing Dawe
Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1952
Freezing Works Series: Designs for a Dinner Set
- 1987
- Woodcut
- Presented by the artist, 2004
- 2004/52.1-14
Location: Contemporary Collections Gallery
Tags: animals, arrows, belts (tool components), fish (animals), food, jugs (vessels), monochrome, sheep, water (inorganic material)
Bing Dawe serves up the brutal reality of the abattoir in this series of woodcut prints. Dawe worked for many years at the Islington Freezing Works in Ōtautahi Christchurch, and became disturbed by his growing indifference to the slaughter of animals caused by the repetitive nature of his job on the assembly line. He commented at the time, “It made me think about […] the need to almost anaesthetise the brain, the difference between the frenetic confines of the abattoir and the hygienic packages we pick up at the supermarket.” These confronting designs for an imagined dinner set draw our attention to the disconnect between what we eat and where it comes from.
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)