Jane Zusters one of the of Artists for save our water will be showing her art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington as part of the Artists as Political Activists 21st August till 12th September
We are not islands
Think of a world
without bumblebees,
without whitebait,
without frogs.
without tuna,
without mutton birds
no kotare, heron or bittern
we are not islands for
we breathe each other’s breath
The work Crown and the video for love of the Mackenzie Country are Jane Zusters’ response to proposed water extractions to intensively farm 28,000 acres of land in the Mackenzie country. The letters are real and from politicians who were sent the video that plays along with the painting.
See www.mackenzieguardians.co.nz
Our pursuit of gross national product at the expense of the environment is not leading to gross national happiness for our rivers and lakes and the birds and the fish. We promote economic activity on the presumption that the social benefits outweigh whatever damage it might cause. However the resulting ecological damage is surpassing our ability to assimilate damage and degrading the ecological integrity of our environment. I believe we need to implement a wholly different structure for environmental decision-making that prioritizes sustainability and maintains the integrity of the ecological systems that we depend on rather than economic growth.
“Artists as Activists”, the Academy’s showcase for 2010 are: Brian Turner, Sam Mahon, Grahame Sydney, Dean Buchanan, Michael Smither, Nick Dryden, Ian Hamlin, Don Binney and Jane Zusters
NZ Academy of Fine Arts
1 Queens Wharf
Wellington
Ph 04 383 584
Forest & Bird will be launching their ‘Save the McKenzie’ campaign at a
lunchtime opening also on 20 August
The show opens to the public at 10 am on the 21st with an artists discussion (over coffee) about their activism and art.