Nouveau Monde @ Corban Estate Art Center

Anton Kaipeita was a resident of Henderson in the late 1950’s. Unemployed with no obvious sources of income Anton spent most of his days in his small one bedroom flat, and appeared to have few friends and no family. In 1960 he left the country, leaving only a note and house key in his neighbour's letterbox. After a number of months the neighbour grew concerned and filed a missing persons report. She was informed by the Police that Anton had in fact left on a ship for Europe and had filed papers with a Dunedin solicitor leaving the flat and its contents to her.   

Among the few possessions in the flat, the neighbour discovered a cupboard full of small paintings on paper that depicted fantastic buildings and interiors from a range of periods throughout history. In a leather-bound folder was also a collection of over 200 hand painted wallpaper designs that featured unusual combinations of European and Maori motifs.

The neighbour later learned from the solicitor that Anton was a descendant of the French designer Jean-Baptiste Huet, Manufacture Royale to the court of Versailles in the 1780’s. Anton’s grandparents had immigrated to New Zealand in 1892 and had been of considerable wealth.

Eventually the neighbour sold the flat and donated the entire portfolio of drawings to the Museum of True History [MOTH]. Although the collection is in a reasonable condition, MOTH has invited artist Karl Chitham to respond to the works that are now referred to as the Anton Kaipeita archive.

The exhibition titled Nouveau Monde or 'New World' was exhibited at Corbans from 12 April – 12 May 2013 (Images courtesy of Artsdiary and Corban Estate Arts Center).

Derelict @ The Dowse

Blumhardt Foundation curatorial intern Lily Hacking invited MOTH to be part of A View from Where I Was Sleeping at the Dowse. The exhibition on from 10 March - 22 July 2012 presented a selection of collaborative art and design works from the 1950s to the present by local and international artists. The title is taken from a poem of the same name by Gregory O’Brien, which can be seen in the exhibition wrapped around a ceramic vase by artist Noel McKenna.  

Often working across surprisingly different artistic disciplines, the exhibition includes graphic designers, glass artists, jewellers, writers, sculptors, furniture designers, ceramicists, rug makers, painters, typographers, and the Museum of True History.

Each work is the outcome of a particular exchange of ideas and is consequently charged with a certain kind of intimacy. These collaborations are imbued with the history of their own making, and those personal relationships that shaped them. Other artists in the show include Raewyn Atkinson, Catherine Griffiths, Kate Woods, Jenny Bornholdt, Lucie Rie, Karl Fritsch, Francis Upritchard Crystal Chain Gang and many more. 

Modern Miracle @ Waikato Museum

This installation, created in collaboration with artist Karl Chitham, is a recreation of a previously unpublished description from the Museum of True History [MOTH] archives. The letter in question describes an unusual shanty town that grew around and onto one of the early timber bridges constructed over the Waikato River. Possibly a forerunner of the now iconic Fairfield Bridge and the much earlier Union Bridge, this ramshackle edifice was referred to in its day as a ‘miracle of modern engineering’. 

MOTH holds a number of significant collections in its archives. The letter described in relation to this installation is atypically in that it was deposited with no supporting documentation.  However, as MOTH’s mandate suggests this project is perfectly placed to ‘negotiate the relatively unbroken ground of presenting the evidence of obscure antipodean lifestyles in all of their strange, confusing and fascinating splendor’.

Fallen Empire @ Blue Oyster Art Project Space

This exhibition and accompanying publication was created by the Museum of True History’s archives department as a permanent record of the Society of Inner Light Collections related specifically to the work of Bertolt Wegener. While not all of the materials donated to MOTH are able to be documented in this small reader the Director and Senior Curator see this as an opportunity to bring this intriguing group’s work into focus so that further research can potentially take place in the future.

MOTH would like to thank all of those involved in putting this exhibition and publication together, particularly the amazingly detailed reconstructive talents of Karl Chitham and the dedication and perseverance of Dr Jack Ross whose significant academic investment in this project has given the previously untold story of the Society of Inner Light new life. MOTH would also like to take this opportunity to thank Alan Deare of Areadesign and Blue Oyster Art Project Space for their belief in this project.

The limited edition publication was produced on the occasion of the exhibition Fallen Empire at Blue Oyster Art Project Space, Dunedin 20 June – 21 July 2012

Paper Theatre, 2012. Courtesy of MOTH

Costume sketch for Isis from Hatupatu and the Nile-Monster, 2012. Courtesy of MOTH

Costume sketch for Calypso from Maui in the Underworld, 2012. Courtesy of MOTH