Understory Project

While working on Waiheke for a conservation trust, the idea arose to celebrate environmental change on the motu island through art. The result? The Understory Project.

Centuries of tribal comings and goings have left their imprint on Waiheke, but it was colonial settlers who laid waste to the remaining ngahere forests and rēpo wetlands to grow grass for livestock. By the 1960s Waiheke was virtually barren, our native taonga species surviving only in small, isolated pockets. But slowly, a conservation consciousness and ethic of environmental care took hold on the motu. The Understory Project sheds light on the mahi work of Waiheke’s conservation workers and visionaries. The impact of their ongoing efforts – tackling weeds and pests, nurturing natives and protecting landscapes, are what we see and experience on Waiheke today.

March 21 – May 4 2025: The UNDERSTORY exhibition

Understory is an exhibition about Waiheke: loss, hope and action. The five-week exhibition draws together a network of Waiheke creatives working across many art forms. The multi-media event combining installations and workshops, is a dynamic exploration and interpretation of environmental change on Waiheke – and a nod to the people who made it happen.

Setting the scene Maps and historic images provide a window into the island’s past

Candid conversations An audio loop shares insights from 10 Waiheke locals.

Foreground: Peter Baigent & Kirsten Anderson Nikau Ghosts I – V, ceramic. Background L-R: Rīhari Warnock (Ngāti Manu, Ngāpuhi, Te Māhurehure) Te papa o ngāherehere; Kōhanga; Titiro atu. Ink on 300gsm cold press paper. Monica Peters Living on the motu: Conservation perspectives and experiences. 4-min sound loop, Setting the scene. Various historic images of Waiheke and reworked digital images of own works.

The present Paintings, drawings and sculptures explore our relationship the island’s landscapes and reveal the details within it. Te Waonui o Tāne, the Great Forest coordinated by indigenous fashion designer and environmental advocate Jeanine Clarkin brings together creatives well-established and emerging with sculptural forms inspired by trees.

Documenting experience through diaries Illustrated journals/travel diaries by Leila Lees, SJ Blake and Monica Peters reveal how each documents and details individual responses to the natural world.

Top LHS: Tom Wilson Eternal Return (Tanekaha) and Bow Low (acrylic on canvas), Barbara Schaefer Regenerating Bush (woven textile, fibre grasses) and Barbara Robinson The Past Imposing on the Present (Kauri Artefacts gold leaf melted oil crayons), Nature Journals on table. TOP RHS: The Friday Art group – Waiheke Adult Learning Ngahere iti o ngā rākau – Little Grove of Trees. In background: SJ Blake Infinite Worlds to Dream of (diorama with soundtrack by  Arli Liberman) BOTTOM LHS: Second Rangitahi workshop, Atawhai Whenua nature reserve BOTTOM RHS: Gallery visitor and workshop drawings on blackboard. 
All participating artists and acknowledgements to the Understory Project supporters

Creative play A makerspace in the gallery – the Understory Regeneration Zone – is where visitors can indulge in creative play and make works inspired by nature.

ENGAGING THE PUBLIC Workshops & Panel Talk

Rangitahi youth-focused workshops Four workshops took place over several months, starting in January 2025 with an invitation to sculptors. The first laid the foundation for Te Waonui a Tāne, an installation inspired by the growth forms of trees. Following the exhibition opening, a second took place in Atawhai Whenua – a model ecological restoration project, situated a stone’s throw from Waiheke’s main ferry terminal. Participants made experimental drawings in response to the soundscape and diversity of growth forms in the forest reserve. Two dynamic holiday workshops for 5-10y ākonga students from local schools used the Understory Regeneration Zone where huge collaborative murals were created.

Understory artists (from L-R) painter @katietrinklelegge sculptor @kiyanancarrow @peterreesphotography, and local conservation champions Rosemary Thorne (Te Matuku stoat trapping) and Norm Robbins (Friends of McKenzie Reserve & Te Korowai o Waiheke). Panel Facilitator: Monica Peters (seated LHS).

Art + Conservation Panel Talk artists and conservation practitioners explored their personal connections to the island, their mahi and how art and conservation can intertwine to narrate decades of ecological restoration.