A Few Thoughts is a collection of new works from Sally Smith which continues to explore the visual energy and forms found in nature. At the same time, the concepts of flight and freedom she depicts are imbued with a strong sense of longing for return to a homeland or turangawaewae.

Manutukutuku references a long tradition of Maori kite-flying. Traditionally flown “for fun, to communicate with people far away, to predict success in battle, or to find an enemy”, kites feature in a number of Maori myths and ancestral stories (1). This work recalls, in particular, a birdman kite form, possibly based on the harrier hawk with the head of a man. The strong horizontal lines of its wings and body suggest the original materials of raupo, manuka and aute bark from which the kite would have been made. Whereas traditional kites were anchored to the ground by twisted threads of muka, Manutukutuku is anchored by the solidity of its bronze medium.

Smith’s On Dusk series is drawn from her observations of migratory birds (in particular the godwits) at the beaches of her Waiheke Island home. The delicate patina, shadow-play and changing shapes of each tiny bird create a sense of weightlessness and fluidity within each series. In Smith’s hands, the bronze forms escape their inherent mass and solidity to flit up and across walls.

As island-dwellers with histories of travelling to and from places far away, Sally Smith’s A Few Thoughts gives us pause and allows us time to consider the connections we have to our own place on the earth.

1. Bob Maysmor. 'Kites and manu tukutuku', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, November 2012, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/kites-and-manu-tukutuku