Weaving earth stories : practicing art sustainably and collaboratively with community and cow dung : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the postgraduate degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

This exegesis is a record of my MFA journey, in a new country, in a phase of my practice that had already matured to a degree where I was clear what direction and conscious choices I wanted to pursue as an artist and a human on this planet. Before migrating from India to New Zealand, I had determined that cow dung was a material in abundance with many redeeming properties. While this material is extremely significant to me and the culture I grew up in, it is strangely regarded as a waste or a nuisance in NZ. A paradox emerged: New Zealand’s problem with cow manure offers its own solution using traditional craft knowledge that I brought with me. The thesis project developed over the two years of study and evolved from a solo studio artist making sculptures to a socially engaged community-based artist collaborating, leading, and facilitating the material’s capacity in the New Zealand context. The research project consists of a collection of early works that were representational and figurative in nature and focussed on presenting a personal narrative. Throughout these experiences, I was adapting to New Zealand weather, culture, soil, customs, and climate in relation to cow dung; I was finding my feet. A collection of three works followed that each demonstrate the evolution of my creative practice in this space of working with communities, ecological concepts, and cow dung.