Heritage Hunter
Deborah Crowe
217 Great South Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
Deborah Crowe's Heritage Hunter is a large scale digital collage that brings together images, snapshots and texts related to Papatoetoe's past and present. Drawn from the people and organisations closely connected to the area, the artist has sifted these into an array of layers and patterns constructed from heritage photographs and a series of visual clues. On the street the wall work operates as an abstract pattern from a distance, revealing images and QR codes on closer viewing. For those desiring a virtual treasure hunt, the QR codes reveal deeper glimpses into Papatoetoe's stories, landscape, and its dynamic present-day local community.
An artist maintaining a multidisciplinary practice for over thirty years, Deborah Crowe studied at Glasgow School of Art, relocated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1986 and currently lectures at Manukau Institute of Technology's School of Visual Arts.
With funding from the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board, Auckland Council, Heritage Hunter was created on the occasion of Papatoetoe's 150th Anniversary celebrated in 2012.
Acknowledgements
This project was made possible through support and contribution from the following people:
Owen Aitken, Maree Allan, Fran Allison, Kal Balu, Michelle Beattie, Nimi Bedi, Raj Bedi, Caryline Boreham, Annalily van den Broeke, Colin Brown, Mary-Louise Browne, Andrew (Panda) Buddell, John Calder, Jenny Clark, Ted Chen, Andrew Csuport, Andrea Cullen, Stella Chen, Scott Dalziell, Diedre Davison, Harry Delamare, Mere Denny, Sherral Denny, Catherine Dilly, Christine Fok, Rhoda Fowler, Lucy Gauntlett, Jai Gopal, Tanu Gopal, Maggie Gresson, Anko Hanse, Christine Knock, Donna Lee, Justin Leydesdorff, Margaret Anne Low, Tom Loo, Alex Lovell, Steve Lovett, Pamela Luhrs, Glen Maw, Wilma Madgwick, Hina Maihi, Richard Manaton, Dawn Matata, Noeline Maxwell, Emma McLellan, Astrid Milward, Andy Murnane, Janette Partington, Ranjna Patel, Gladys Penman, Nick Platt, Anil Ranchhod, Jaki Recchia, Noel Robinson, Bruce Ringer, James Sciascia, Brad Shaw, Andrew de Silva, David Sims, Grant Southam, Sukhvinder Singh, Simon Smith, Jen Lucie-Smith, Marilyn Talbot, John Talbot, Ashwinbhai Thakker, Grant Thompson, Andrew Topping, Chris Traill, Gary Troup, Judith Tucker, Chris Wade, Clive Watkins, Allan Webb, Tod Wilson, Gary Watson, Jim Watson.
