Standing alongside Chinese painters in exhibition

SHARED KAUPAPA: Chinese painters Lei Shuqing (left) and Jinshui Lin (right) with Gisborne artist Phil Berry at the opening of “Nature, Harmony & Balance” at He Rau Aroha in Peel Street. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

Gisborne’s first Chinese art exhibition, “Nature Harmony & Balance” opened at He Rau Aroha in Peel St on Friday night.

Artworks of three Auckland-based Chinese artists – Jinshui Lin, Lei Shuqing and Xiaoming Tang — now adorn a section of the gallery walls, freshly painted with the colour red.

Exhibition patron Ansheng Chen said, “It was heart-warming to see so many people turn up to welcome this exhibition.”

She said the exhibition was initially planned for last year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of New Zealand and China diplomatic relations. But Covid-19 and other circumstances meant it had to be delayed.

“As long as locals continue to welcome this kind of event, we are more than happy to hold these types of exhibitions on an annual basis,” Mrs Chen said.

She thanked Te Kupenga Net Trust mataora and artist Nick Tupara for helping stage the exhibition.

The exhibition was “a magnificent opportunity to extend our reach and our artistic offering back to the community”, Mr Tupara said.

“Part of our role here is to support art and artists who have a connection here to Te Tairāwhiti and we could see that our Chinese community from Te Tairāwhiti had the vision and ability to host.

“To pay respect and mana we painted a section of the walls with a red colour which displays the strong essence of the Chinese community.”

While a section of the gallery pays homage to the intricate culture of the Chinese community, the opposite section features the artworks of Mr Tupara and mataora (and artist) Phil Berry.

“We decided to have our works displayed alongside the other artists because we wanted to give them a message that they don’t stand alone.

“I hope some of our other cultural community members here in Gisborne come forward because we would love to have them all,”  Mr Tupara said.

Mr Berry said, “I can see there is traditional and contemporary Chinese art. It’s the same with our Maori art.

“We use our traditional knowledge, our traditional kaupapa, and carvings and imagery, to inspire us to create works. For them to produce a variety of artworks is quite neat to see.”

At Friday’s opening, Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz was gifted a portrait of herself as a gesture of thanks.

She said it was a pleasure to see the artists share their pride in their beautiful culture through their artworks.

“On behalf of the Gisborne District Council we like to say thank you.”

Promoter of the exhibition Tairāwhiti Cultural Festival and Events representative Dan Li thanked all those invited, and members of the public, for attending.

The exhibition runs until May 26. The artworks are available for purchase and 20 percent of the proceeds will go to Te Kupenga Net Trust to help fund its efforts with mental health.