some time
Gabby O’Connor

by Kathryn Tsui

Artist Gabby O'Connor has long been fascinated by the history and physical nature of Antarctica which she reconstructs in her latest installation, some time, a luminous multifaceted sculptural interpretation of the edge of the Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf at the point of collapse.

Made with thousands of tissue paper sheets the labour intensive installation has been entirely hand dyed and cut into individual geometric shapes, before being assembled. Painstakingly created some time represents the time it has taken to form the icy continent and now the speed at which it is melting. The materials of the installation being paper and light also reflect the immense and delicate ecosystem of Antarctica and the current effect of climate change.

some time plays with the architecture of the gallery, invading the space with a foreboding glacial cliff face. The artist says, “the angles and geometries are a space to contemplate the nature of ice, our position in the world and the space we inhabit and the edges potential to transform unexpectedly”.

O’Connor’s work reflects on Robert Falcon Scott and his crew's final and fatal expedition in Antarctica. The artist is intrigued by the Ross Ice Shelf for the slightly macabre fact that it will eventually calve off icebergs containing the bodies of Scott and his crew. In an earlier work, What lies beneath (2011) at the City Gallery Wellington, the artist constructed the rarely seen submerged part of an iceberg with the help of NIWA Oceanographer, Craig Stevens.

some time (2013)
Hand dyed and lacquered tissue paper, staples.

Artist biography
Gabby O’Connor is a Wellington based artist with a practice grounded in installation. The artist holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts. Since 1995 O’Connor has exhibited nationally and internationally in Japan, Canada, Holland, Australia and the UK. In 2011, she produced a solo exhibition What lies beneath at the City Gallery Wellington. This latest Antarctic installation is the first arts project in New Zealand to be funded by Boosted, a crowdfunding initiative for creative projects in New Zealand recently established by the Arts Foundation. O’Connor continues to collaborate with scientists and is currently working on a commission with award winning physicist Professor Shaun Hendy.

Artist acknowledgments
The artist would like to acknowledge the generous support of; the individual Boosted campaign funders, Shio Otani, Martin Kwok, Corban Estate Arts Centre, Craig Stevens, Ben Stevens, Katharine Allard and the installation volunteers; Elaine, Anne-Sophie, Jane l, Jane P, Francis, Alamein, Kenneth, Rainer, Urmilla, Vanessa, Jacqueline and Brigette.

Gabby O'Connor

some time

Target: $3000 - In association with: Boosted

My name is Gabby O'Connor I am an installation artist living in Wellington NZ.

I am also a mum and I occasionally teach art and craft processes to children and tertiary students. I really like icebergs and the stories and science of exploring Antarctica. My projects all take a lot of time.

My next project is called some time.

For this work I will be making the edge of the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, utilising only tissue paper, staples, light and space.

some time will be exhibited at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in Henderson Auckland opening on May 16, 2013

This work will be made from thousands of sheets of tissue paper hand dyed and cut into geometric shapes. These will then be stapled together and constructed to create a site specific installation that responds to the architecture of the gallery. In essence I will be making certain architectural features disappear and the audience will be faced with a looming, multifaceted paper ice shelf. The work itself will cover an area of approximately 40sq m but when dismantled, will fit into a suitcase.

My work process is very labour intensive, and repetitive and all done by hand.

There is the time it takes to research the ideas and the materials.

The time it takes to lacquer and dye and hand cut the paper.

The time it takes to test and prepare the individual components.

Currently I have the time and means to cover these first few stages.

But then there is the time it takes to assemble and install the final work.

It will take a full 7 days on site to do this.

This is the stage that I need help with to achieve my goals.

I am looking for support with exhibition costs: including getting the work and myself to Auckland for the 7 day installation period before the exhibition and to cover accommodation near the gallery for myself and my baby who will be 1 year old at the time.

My most recent exhibition series was titled what lies beneath. Those works depicted the seldom seen submerged part of an iceberg. Specifically, the icebergs that will eventually calve off the Ross Ice Shelf containing the bodies of Robert Falcon Scott and his crew "sometime" in the future. They were the largest works I'd ever created being 14m long and 4m high in parts. what lies beneath was shown at the City Gallery in Wellington, House of Waiwera, Auckland and the North Wall in Oxford, UK.

This new work continues to reflect on Scott and his crew's story.

To achieve this project, I'm hoping to raise $3000 to cover expenses.

If I exceed my ask. I want to invest in getting my work professionally documented and to upgrade my website. It would also assist with all the expenses that I have incurred thus far.

I'd like to extend my gratitude to The Boosted campaign, which will allow me to expand my audience at the same time as creating a significant companion art work to the What lies beneath iceberg series.

And to the the Arts Foundation for selecting my work to be a part of the inaugural Boosted initiative.. . I'd also like to say...

"Thank you"