Onion pickers celebrated in art - come see the exhibition
What is an iconic image that makes you think of Pukekohe?
For many of us it is onion pickers, backs bent over the brown soil in the surrounding fields.
Now this annual part of our rural heritage has been celebrated in art.
Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi has contributed Onion Picker, a mixed media installation which is a centrepiece to the Heterodox Us exhibition at the Franklin Arts Centre.
For many school holidays in the 1970s and 1980s Magele-Suamasi would come with her parents and seven siblings to toil in the onion and potato fields around Franklin.
It has left an indelible memory, which she transformed into an artwork which has in turn evoked memories and started conversations among gallery visitors.
Two rows of onion sacks run through the gallery, each emblazoned with anecdotes shared by Magele-Suamasi’s siblings when she told them she was creating this work.
They capture the hard work of picking: ‘‘Everything and everyone smells like onions’’; ‘‘and then the sound of onion clippers all day until sunset’’ but also the sense of family and togetherness that the days of picking brought: ‘‘glass gallon bottles filled with orange cordial drinks’’ and ‘‘pain, endurance, teamwork, pride.’’
Come in and see the exhibition for yourself:
Heterodox Us
Franklin Arts Centre, Pukekohe
Runs till June 18
Sunday prize draw!
Congratulations to the winners of this week's prize draw who will receive a $50 cafe voucher.
The winners are:
Sarah McGarry from Tawa
Jenna Holland from Woolston
Tobias Nash from Northland
Sascha Howie from Tauranga
Get in touch with the Neighbourly team here if you are on this list.
Not a winner? Maybe next week you will be!
Show us your projects
Whether it's craft, haberdashery, woodwork or upcycling, we'd love to see what you've been working on lately.
You may even spark someone else's creativity...
Tell us about your current project or show us a picture in the comments below...
Poll: Is your nearest emergency department up to scratch?
Concerns have been raised about Nelson Hospital with complaints of lack of staffing and excessive wait times. Do you have confidence in your local emergency department?
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36.4% Yes, it serves us well
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62.8% No, I have concerns
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0.8% Other - I'll share below
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