Rebecca Holden

Rhondda Sweetman from Plimmerton Rotary

Rebecca Holden, a local artist, gave us a beautifully-illustrated presentation of her major project “Sand in the Apricot Jam”.
This began as a tribute to her grandfather, who served in the New Zealand Mounted Rifles during World War 1. In researching his life she had found that the Rifles’ main campaign had been in the Middle East against the Turks, and that it had been something of a sideshow at the time. Conditions were hard and dangerous for the men and their horses. She was able to convey this, and the bond between them, in her series of paintings. Much of the work was done in public at the Expressions gallery, leading to lively discussions with visitors.
The collection became a touring exhibition which she titled “Sand in the Apricot Jam”. After touring New Zealand it travelled to Richon LaZion in Israel, a town which had been liberated by the Mounted Rifles in 1918. This event was well-remembered by the locals, who welcomed the exhibition to their town museum. The cost of this was crowdfunded in New Zealand.