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A journey of extremes, both psychological and physical, forms the basis for prominent Christchurch print artist Denise Copland's mixed media installation in the McDougall Contemporary Art Annex. By reworking recorded and experiential forays into the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, Copland expresses human endeavour – hope, courage, strength and endurance – in the face of nature.

Fascinated by situations of extreme and the evolving relationship between humankind and nature, Copland was attracted to the primordial wilderness of the Auckland Islands, glaciated remains of two volcanic cones, now a national reserve. Small, remote land masses, subject to great climatic change, the Islands have been the subject of many attempts at colonisation and inhabitation since their first sighting in 1806. Through a series of printed symbols and images in the form of log books and maps, Copland alludes to the stories of travellers who have landed by chance, through shipwreck and survived privation, as well to those who have ventured there by choice, such as the artist.

On three internal walls of the Gallery, Copland's large-scale collographs express the essence of the fundamental natural forces – liquid, geographical and atmospheric – which symbolise the human qualities integral to the struggle for survival. Crucial to all life on this planet and also indicative of feeling and energy, water is a symbol for natural strength. The writhing and twisted rata forests of the Auckland Islands represent endurance and nature's adaptability and flexibility. For Copland, the bird alludes to the hope of the island's travellers and carries the properties of movement, light and atmosphere.

HUMAN'NATURE: Shore to shore evokes the state of flux, physical and emotional, which is constant to nature and human endeavour. According to Copland, 'Change and how we cope with it has always fascinated me; ironically it is the only constant in our lives. This body of work explores the processes of change, of time, from one state and place to another, and from body to mind, as recorded and experienced, and the energy and forces which operate around and within us.'

Denise Copland was born in Timaru in 1952. In 1971, she received a certificate of Graphic Design from Christchurch Polytechnic and in 1977 she graduated with Diploma of Fine Arts (Hons) in Engraving. She has tutored at various Summer Schools and print workshops throughout the country and was Visiting Tutor at the School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury in 1982–4 and at the School of Art, Otago Polytechnic in 1985. Since then, Copland has tutored in figure drawing and printmaking at the Christchurch Polytechnic. She has received numerous awards and grants including a QEII Arts Council of New Zealand Award in 1990 and the Jean Herbison Research Grant from the Christchurch Polytechnic in 1996. She has lectured widely on printmaking and in 1985 she produced a limited hand-printed edition educational book on etching techniques.

Copland has exhibited extensively in group and solo shows both in New Zealand and overseas since 1977, including British International Mini Print, Off-centre Gallery, Bristol, England, 1994; Bharat Bhavan International Biennial of Prints, Bhopal, India, 1995; Asia Print Adventure, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan, 1998; and the solo exhibitions, Implantations, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, 1991, and HUMAN'NATURE, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch, 1996.

Belinda Jones

This exhibition was held at the Robert McDougall Contemporary Art Annex in the Arts Centre.