Petite Story - Isabelle Staron-Tutugoro
Wednesday 4 March 2015
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Sunday 22 March 2015
Opening Tuesday 3rd of March, 5-7pm
Internationally recognised New Caledonian artist, Isabelle Staron-Tutugoro presents Petite Story, a variety of captivating prints and mixed media paintings that embrace indigenous symbolism.
Born in 1964 in Saint Symphorien sur Coise (Lyon - France), Isabelle has been living in Poindimié (New Caledonia) and working in the Pacific for the last 19 years. Isabelle is inspired by the Kanak culture of her husband and she pays tribute to Kanak history and culture by incorporating from symbols found on petroglyphs, Lapita pottery, tapa, and engraved bamboo within her paintings and prints.
She is has also learned from and been inspired by other cultures across Oceania including Aotearoa/New Zealand, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Hawaiʻi, French Polynesia, Australia, Tasmania, Vanuatu, and the mysterious Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
She exhibits internationally, most often in New Caledonia, France, and Australia. Isabelle is excited to return to Auckland to share the exhibition "Petite Story" through a collaboration with Alliance Française of Auckland.
This series of paintings is a continuation of her solo exhibition in New Caledonia last year for the occasion of her fiftieth birthday. For this important event, Isabelle created this series as a tribute to her grandmother Lucie who has been a strong source of inspiration for her. Isabelle incorporates elements from French and Kanak cultures within each painting such as the ancient petroglyphs found in New Caledonia and in France. The paintings also include personal symbols of family history, as for example, marriage certificate, letters written during WWI, and mementos from travels.
Isabelle has been exploring collage for many years and her technique is a reminiscent of the palimpsests of the Middle Ages. The layers within the works offers opportunities to include multiple stories and different readings and ways to approach the soul of her work.
This syncretism is the foundation for her work and has, over many years, become her "trademark".
After this exhibition, Isabelle will hit the road to exhibit her work month after month: April in Lyon (France); July in Port Vila (Vanuatu) at the 8th International Lapita Conference and Poindimié (New Caledonia); September in Samoa (Vanya Taule'alo Gallery); November in Koumac (New Caledonia); December in Galerie Arte Bello, Noumea (New Caledonia).
In 2016, she will exhibit at the Alliance Française of Melbourne, Australia.
