Selected Work | Chantel Matthews

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CHANTEL MATTHEWS

Conceptual Artist

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The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 15 Feb - 12 March 2023

The Dinner ‘After’ Party
Documented by Chantel Matthews

On entry a cuppa tea station breaks the ice over neon lights in the colour purple, an all-inclusive colour for all ages, genders and cultures, a colour said to uplift and encourage creativity, dignity and peace whilst also being associated with luxury and power. ‘Tī Māu, Tī Māku’ in te reo Māori translates loosely as ‘tea for you, tea for me’ an invitation to sit, digest, and reflect and manaaki the surrounding works that offer a space into one’s own life. The tea station is a humble yet powerful vessel of home.

Away from home, over 3 weeks, 3 large-scale paintings unveil themselves through a carefully curated yet distracting process. Performed within the sterile gallery, the artist compares these walls to that of the hospital. Horrible and intimidating. The attempt is to break down hierarchical constructs with intimacy by smothering the female body with that of a mothers meandering heart. Light bouncing in real time, the decision to paint in a foreign space is to overcome the unpredictable nature within the sterile confinements of a room that offers no relief from a healing heart.

A warm cuddle in the form of a woolly rug slowly appears as Nana's retro wallpaper is offered as a glimpse of her at the kitchen table. The rug small enough for a grandchild to sit and watch her knitting sets the tone for food memories of beloved parents. Paper from the local fish and chip shop is sculpted into round pineapples with a glowing heartbeat symbolising the artist's mother who lit up any room she entered. One could assume these are lifebuoys, the aiga anchor that keeps everyone safe. These are lovingly draped by a hand-sewn protective cloak with Samoan lava lava patterns pleated tripe-like, a dish dad would cook. Perhaps where opposites attract as dad could clear a room as much as mum could fill one. One thing is clear, whilst the grieving never stops, the memories keep them alive.

A larger than life canvas stretching across 2.7 metres displays multiple memories of self in a repeated and pressurizing attempt to constantly 'come out.' The tragedy of loss associated with being queer, gay and Chinese is reflected in an absurd mirage of joy and happiness. Humour is the pain carrier of parental expectations and ostracization. Here comes the bride playing on the fake for the sake of parental acceptance and a loving portrayal of the not-so-straight, straight life.

With the artists in residence whether painting, minding or serving cups of tea, the artworks were not objects to be gazed at or observed. They are bouncing, beating bodies of love in all their crevices. Reflective track arrows illuminating the way home, creating a path one chooses to take alone or with others beside them. They are beacons of hope in hopeless times and a sign that there is always a way through something when it is shared and embraced. It shouldn't work on paper but it does.

What brings this show together is an embracing of each other’s vulnerabilities, trauma and ultimate acceptance.

Chantel Matthews, 16.03.23

Chantel Matthews, Tī Māu, Tī Māku, Cuppa Tea Station, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Chantel Matthews, Tī Māu, Tī Māku, Cuppa Tea Station, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Chantel Matthews, Tī Māu, Tī Māku, Cuppa Tea Station, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Chantel Matthews, Tī Māu, Tī Māku, Cuppa Tea Station, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Hana Carpenter, Somatic Painting, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Erich Roebeck, Pineapple and Tripe, 2023, In Nana's Kitchen, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Erich Roebeck, Pineapple and Tripe, 2023, In Nana's Kitchen, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

Tony Guo, The Puddle, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

The Dinner Party, 2023
Erich Roebeck, Hana Carpenter, Tony Guo

Tony Guo, Walking down the aisle, 2023
The Dinner Party, RM Gallery, 2023

ME TŪ I TE TŪ A TE KAHIKATEA, 2022

Bradley Lane Project NZ Outdoor Mural with
Hana Carpenter, Jessica Fuiono and Friends.

ME TŪ I TE TŪ A TE KAHIKATEA, 2022

Bradley Lane Project NZ Outdoor Mural with
Hana Carpenter, Jessica Fuiono and Friends.

ME TŪ I TE TŪ A TE KAHIKATEA, 2022

Bradley Lane Project NZ Outdoor Mural with
Hana Carpenter, Jessica Fuiono and Friends.

ME TŪ I TE TŪ A TE KAHIKATEA, 2022

Bradley Lane Project NZ Outdoor Mural with
Hana Carpenter, Jessica Fuiono and Friends.

ME TŪ I TE TŪ A TE KAHIKATEA, 2022

Bradley Lane Project NZ Outdoor Mural with
Hana Carpenter, Jessica Fuiono and Friends.

You are not buying mushrooms, you are buying He harore rangitahi. July 2022.
Pekepeke-kiore (NZ Lions mane) grown by Mushrooms by the Sea, Raglan Dimensions: 700mm L x330mm W x 400mm H Glass Tank, Authentication Certificate. POA

You are not buying mushrooms, you are buying He harore rangitahi. July 2022.
Pekepeke-kiore (NZ Lions mane) grown by Mushrooms by the Sea, Raglan Dimensions: 700mm L x330mm W x 400mm H Glass Tank, Authentication Certificate. POA

You are not buying mushrooms, you are buying He harore rangitahi. July 2022.
Pekepeke-kiore (NZ Lions mane) grown by Mushrooms by the Sea, Raglan Dimensions: 700mm L x330mm W x 400mm H Glass Tank, Authentication Certificate. POA

You are not buying mushrooms, you are buying He harore rangitahi. July 2022.
Pekepeke-kiore (NZ Lions mane) grown by Mushrooms by the Sea, Raglan Dimensions: 700mm L x330mm W x 400mm H Glass Tank, Authentication Certificate. POA

“Ko Au Ko Koe, Ko Koe Ko Au” – I am you and you are me. 2022

Ko Tau Rourou Weavers, Jamie Te Huia Cowell

Maybury Reserve, Glen Innes, Tāmaki Makaurau
This project has been proudly supported by the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Auckland Council and Tāmaki Regeneration Company

“Ko Au Ko Koe, Ko Koe Ko Au” – I am you and you are me. 2022

Ko Tau Rourou Weavers, Jamie Te Huia Cowell

Maybury Reserve, Glen Innes, Tāmaki Makaurau
This project has been proudly supported by the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Auckland Council and Tāmaki Regeneration Company

“Ko Au Ko Koe, Ko Koe Ko Au” – I am you and you are me. 2022

Ko Tau Rourou Weavers, Jamie Te Huia Cowell

Maybury Reserve, Glen Innes, Tāmaki Makaurau
This project has been proudly supported by the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Auckland Council and Tāmaki Regeneration Company

chantel@waicreate.com

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