Dusky Maidens

The exhibition Maiden Aotearoa at City Gallery uses postcards and the stereotype of the "Dusky Maiden" as the starting point for a conversation about contemporary representations of Maori women. I am visiting Wellington shortly so will have a chance to see the exhibition. It's the second exhibition in as many years that has used postcards as a point of investigation into issues of Maori identity. Coincidence? No. It is interesting because the historical postcard craze in New Zealand corresponds with a moment of intense colonisation and the objectification of Maori culture through photography. Here's an earlier post about a 2009 exhibition at Paul McNamara's Gallery by Murray Lloyd, Maoriland which also used postcards as a starting point. I couldn't help but notice that the Whanganui River, is described as the "Rhine of Maoriland." How very weirdly apt is that, Germany and New Zealand meet again.