Donna Sarten
By Sophie Keyse
Sarten attempts to
address situations that are endemic to our social situation while at the same
time sit outside society’s comfort zone...
When asked by the author what she hopes viewers get from her work, Donna Sarten replies with an unusual response: ‘A great sense of disorder.’ With visitor feedback commonly revolving around being shocked or disturbed by the content of her artwork, Sarten hopes this reaction will cause viewers to consider their role in society and their ability to influence change in New Zealand, particularly in regards to serious crime offenders such as child abusers. It is perhaps this interest in social change which leads Sarten to choose her project first and then select which media would be the most effective to convey the idea.
Originally from New Plymouth but eventually ending up in
Auckland after a rather tumultuous initial few years, Sarten has a fine arts
background after completing a Master of Fine Arts (Honours) at the University
of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts.
While completing her undergraduate degree Sarten began investigating
anxiety through the lens of a camera and then moved into more sculptural approaches
to broaden the scope of her practice. Her
work investigates various contemporary power relations including psychological,
social and geo-political, often with a focus on subjects such as war, anxiety
and child abuse. Sarten attempts to
address situations that are endemic to our social situation while at the same
time sit outside society’s comfort zone, thus pushing into the spotlight topics
which are typically pushed aside and not talked about. Such is the case with the photographic
exhibition currently on display in the Corban Homestead Galleries Norm & Noeleen, which is in
collaboration with her partner Bernie Harfleet.
Sarten presents a photographic essay of her adopted mother Noeleen
within her home, which she is determined to remain in while she battles with
dementia and old age.
During her Master’s degree at Elam Sarten focused her
research on post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly exploring some of the
lesser-discussed aspects of war experienced by New Zealand soldiers. Her work touched on subjects such as
conscientious objectors and the effect of post-traumatic stress on
soldiers. Sarten maintains an interest
in drawing attention to specific historical and present events in order to
raise people’s awareness of war and its results, as well as exploring
psychological trauma such as post-tramatic stress disorder. This is perhaps linked to prominent artist
Louise Bourgeois who has influenced Sarten’s art practice, not only in her
technique and the impressive nature of her sculptural spiders and cell-works,
but also the therapeutic element to her art making. Bourgeois suffered betrayal and anxiety
following the discovery that her English governess was also her father’s
mistress, and this childhood trauma has featured in many of her artworks in
their suggestions of the human figure and their dark, lonely themes. Sarten may also be using her investigations
into trauma and anxiety as a means of therapy as well.
After successfully coming second place in the Fieldays No.8
Wire National Art Award 2012 with her sculpture The Price of Milk, Sarten was also featured recently in the Art of Assemblage exhibition as part of
the Erupt ,Festival in Taupo.
 |
As in, The Price of Milk,
image courtesy of Hamilton
Waikato Tourism
|
Coming up for Sarten is a new work for Sculpture OnShore
2012 as well as adding to a long-term project entitled Future Tense. It began in
2005 with a series of photographs featuring four girls aged 18 months, 8, 9 and
10 years old. The images evoke real and
perceived feelings of the vulnerability of these children. She revisited her sitters in 2009 to see what
had changed over four years and to ask the question: what do their futures
hold? This summer Sarten will photograph
them again at ages 9, 16, 17 and 18, which will inevitability bring new
challenges.
