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Esther Bunning’s first solo exhibition opens at Aratoi this month 

November 10, 2021 November 2021 No Comments

I’m sure you’ve all heard this phrase before, ‘in the right place at the right time,’ but this has never been more true than with Esther Bunning’s first solo exhibition at Aratoi, titled PHOSPHENE 1: a portrait of a landscape.

You may be wondering what phosphene means, it is one of those words you may have heard of. If you love decoding words, the word phosphene comes from the Greek words phōs (light) and phainein (to show).

You will be familiar with them though. Phosphenes are the luminous floating stars, zigzags, swirls, spirals, squiggles, and other shapes that you see when closing your eyes tight and pressing them with your fingers.

The exhibition is an exploration and organic unravelling of an abstract landscape, from origination through to images being printed on silk and linen, and textile stitching on images.

Greytown’s Bunning describes how the images came about from a rare day off. She packed a picnic lunch despite the wintery conditions and traipsed over the hill to the Kaitoke Regional Park.

“…We came across a lake area that had an overhanging tree with the remains of autumn leaves, and the water was dotted with these. What happened next was truly extraordinary – and I still have to pinch myself when I recall this. In front of my eyes and camera lens, the scene continuously morphed and changed as the breeze flurried across the water and then became still. I stood there transfixed, unable to believe what I was capturing as the patterns continuously changed and re-arranged themselves into abstracts, geometrics and mosaics while I ‘clicked’ the camera. Hence the title ‘Phosphenes’. It sums up the experience succinctly.

Esther Bunning’s first solo exhibition, Phosphene 1: a portrait of a landscape opens on the 20th November until 7th February at Aratoi, Wairarapa Museum of Art and History.

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