Tara Douglas

A REAR WINDOW PROJECT

Tara Douglas’s recent practice includes photography and three-dimensional sculptural installations. These tactile installations carefully and obsessively grow from individually hand cut and folded sheets of paper and card. When combined, these meticulously labour-intensive forms transform a space, through its bright colours, spacial depth and immersive qualities.

Douglas’s exploration of flora and the techniques that physically shape the works are heavily influenced from her experience living in Japan in 2011. It was during this time that Douglas learnt traditional paper making techniques, such as origami, and the flower arranging discipline, ikebana. 

Shield, in the Gallery’s Rear Window space, is made up of 1275 fern leaves; specifically ‘Smooth Shield Ferns’ that are native to New Zealand. This plant is resilient and weathers tough environmental conditions. In many abandoned and unused spaces in post-earthquake Christchurch, plants have taken over, covering what lies underneath, transforming architectural spaces. Shield, with its hues of blue, pink and purple, draws on this phenomenon by concealing a wall, preventing it from being seen. Smaller clusters of ferns organically emerge from the dense textured mass, sprouting on to the floor and surrounding walls. 

Tara Douglas is a New Zealand artist based in Christchurch. She has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Postgraduate Diploma in Visual Arts, both at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art, in 2009 and 2012 respectively. In 2014 Douglas completed a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch. She has been exhibiting in solo and group exhibitions since 2006.