Celebration of works of E. Mervyn Taylor
First Kumera Planting / Kia Kitea Te Waewae Tangata
(1962)
On Tuesday 19th September 2023 we held the unveiling of a digital image of the work in its original location in the foyer of Taylor building.
First Kumera Planting / Kia Kitea Te Waewae Tangata (1962)
Selected works of E. Mervyn Taylor's were on display in the TLC Gallery
19 - 28 September
This special project has been long in the planning. TLC is housed in what was once the New Zealand Soil Bureau, and E. Mervyn Taylor’s mural once welcomed all who arrived into the entrance foyer. When Te Papa conservators assessed it as unable to be recovered, we set the goal to create a reproduction of the mural to be installed in its original location, so that the memory of this work may continue to be held by all who visit our campus.
We are grateful for the support and learnings from Sarah Taylor, Mervyn’s granddaughter and administrator of the E. Mervyn Taylor Estate, and Dr. Bronwyn Holloway-Smith, editor of Wanted: The search for the modernist murals of E. Mervyn Taylor (Massey Press: 2018) and co-Director of Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand.
Our staff exhibition Groundworks that was held last year as a fundraiser towards the cost of the reproduction. We would like to acknowledge the work completed by Sarah Graham to support this, and all of our staff who took part in the show.
Our Te Ao Māori Development Roopu are also pleased to be supporting this event. This is a very special occasion that honours the artwork of E. Mervyn Taylor and recognises the special history of our campus, and our sense of space and place as TLC.
If you would like to learn more about the mural, below are some excellent references
that we’d highly recommend checking out:
Read: https://publicart.nz/artworks/e-mervyn-taylor-1962-02
Watch: https://youtu.be/OP56sQm4Cfw?feature=shared
Listen: https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201820133
