Creative Connections check in

Sarah is an artist, researcher, collective member, and mum, who lives below Kaputerangi in Whakatāne. As well as working on her own creative projects and research, she is a founder member of the Kauae Raro Research Collective since 2019, and a member of 2021 Walters Prize winning collective Mata Aho.

Sarah is passionate about the Tūhoe concept, matemateāone, and her Caselberg Trust Creative Connections residency will focus on this. Matemateāone is the term is used to express a sense of longing for and belonging to the land. Sometimes it is translated as ‘being wrapped in the earth’, a deeply reciprocal philosophy of creation narratives, kaitiakitanga/ stewardship, and acknowledging eventually we all will return to the soil.

'The Creative Connections residency has been a massive opportunity to spend time and share kōrero with creatives in Ōtepoti. The charming Charles Brasch studio accommodates all of my artistic needs and the Caselberg Trust have made me and my whānau feel very welcome in Whakaohorahi.

During my time here my whānau and I have explored the peninsula and observed the rugged beauty of Muaūpoko in Autumn. My practice is based on connecting with the whenua through the use of earth pigments. The rich volcanic landscape has offered a uniquely Ōtepoti colour palette to work with, all of these colours will inform an exhibition at Blue Oyster on the 13th of May and will all be returned to the land at the end of the show.

See Sarah featured in Style: The South Island Lifestyle Magazine.