Window Gallery
Pacific Crossings and Transit of Venus III 2004-2006
Maker: Jo Torr
Materials: barkcloth (Tapa), cotton cloth, Sennit, Cowrie shells, metal, Rayon thread, plastic
Courtesy of Mark Hutchins Gallery. Image courtesy of Paul McCredie/NZ House and Garden.
Jo Torr
23 June 2007 - 21 July 2007
A window installation for Objectspace, Jo Torr's Pacific Crossings and Transit of Venus III are based on 1770's dress styles fashionable when James Cook was exploring the Pacific. Constructed predominantly of Tapa cloth, these works defy easy categorization as both sculptural and wearable objects.
Delving into the object-based transactions which were common in pre-colonial times, Jo Torr is "fascinated by the history of early encounters between European and Polynesian peoples." Torr is recognised in New Zealand and internationally for her successful mix of contemporary aesthetics with a museological viewpoint.