Going, Going, Gone 2018

A group exhibition exploring the loss and preservation of the native plants and animals of Aotearoa. With a real threat to the future of our majestic Kauri trees at the forefront of our minds at the moment in the Waitākere Ranges, Melissa was particularly preoccupied with thoughts of the native flora and fauna that Aotearoa has already lost to extinction. Many endemic birds were quickly lost with the arrival of humans to these shores. Having said this even today some bird populations are at critical levels due to loss of habitats or pest dangers.
‘Going, Going, Gone’ was a perfect opportunity for Melissa to set out on a new adventure into the world of ceramics. She felt that exploring this vulnerable world through this fragile and unpredictable medium seemed appropriate.

The extinct skull series ‘No Moa’ is an exploration into the juxtaposition of the deadened skulls enlivened and entwined in by the living weedlike plants. Most of us aren’t lucky enough to own the skull of one of these beautiful extinct birds, but these artworks attempt to preserve a piece of this history in a beautiful tactile form. This also encapsulates Melissa’s questions around whether ceramics needs to have form and function to be relevant to the beholder. “No Moa’ has been created to be either, as have the majority her other works for this show.