The photographic is sometimes an afterthought, other times the main character in artworks that spill out all over the place. Boundaries, what boundaries? Te hinengaro whakawātea (the unbounded mind / thoughts untamed) approaches story telling in side steps.

Detail of "Tomato Soup"


Detail of "The earthworks that slip and slide," spoil spilling over a corrugated koru by Jeff Thomson, "Tomato Soup," "The Shaman and the healing tree"

"Tomato Soup," 2024, arranged adjacent to a sculpture by Jeff Thomson bagged spoil with photo showing it being dumped on our land by neighbour.
An absurd title for a an absurd situation. $20 per bag of trespass. Edition of 2000.

Tulips from Istanbul, 1997, cast resin and nylon.

Tulips from Istanbul plaque, photo-print on dubond, 2018, 20 x 15 cm, $250, Edition of 35. Cultural symbols always have a history and are always in flux. “Tulips from Istanbul” was made in response to the political debate on what is a "Dutch" national culture.

Texts on the plaque over a 2001 photograph of 20 Tulips from Istanbul installed in the 1689 entrance to the Ars Aemula Naturae gallery in Leiden, The Netherlands.

"It is not a tale invented but a confirmation of what went on before it"
The Qur'an

"The Dutch House of Orange has reigned since 1572. The tulip from Turkey gained popularity in West Europe in the early 1600s"

>> The Shaman and the Healing Tree (photograph of Dutch artist Jessy Rahman), Kawakawa tree sapling, milk box, mirror, custom made shelf
Made for the Tiakina | Take Care show in response to a zoom session and this photograph of Jessy (The Hague, The Netherlands) taken in August 2020 next to the infertile fig tree adjacent to the Quartair Gallery and Jessy's studio.
We discussed the covid-19 pandemic and Sonja offered the Kawakawa tree (a New Zealand native with healing properties) for Jessy 'in quaratine' (mirrored from the other side of the globe) in his shaminist mask.
This interview is in this video or you can listen to Jessy here on youtube

Thanks to Di Daniels of The Far North for this Kawakawa sapling as the one for the Tiakina show was planted next the Papakura Art Gallery in south Auckland.

>> Three of the photographic "Child's Play" series, prints on alumium featuring my children.

Still of "The Two Lands" in the Kāinga a roto series


"Lysaght referee" silkscreened corrugated iron by Jeff Thomson under trespass spoil.

An ode to John Lysaght (1832-1895) who began the iron and steel corrugated iron company in Bristol in 1857. In 1897 the company publication, the Lysaght Referee, detailed the products Lysaght sold. This sculpture by Jeff is one of a suite of works Jeff made in the mid 90s..

The trespass spoil dumped into our ngahere (grove of trees) by a new neighbour in Nov 2022 is sprinkled over this ode to a pioneer of the corrugated

 Bottoms Up, half a glass full of trespass spoil taken out of our wetland.
Part of the theme of the unbounded is the introduction of mutations during the 4 week exhibition and I introduced this glass 2 weeks into the exhibiton after a conversation about pollution into our wetland of this trespassing fill. So I scooped a glass full of this trespass spoil out and positioned it under the column of the "Child's Play" images.

>> "Closing the gap (Child's Play) Whakawhiti i te āputa (Te takaro a Te tamaiti)", 2018 on the river Waal, Gelderland. Edition 1/50, $400. Photographic print on dubond. 10 x 15 x 1 cm

"Black handed (Child's Play) He tiwha te ringaringa (Te takaro a Te tamaiti)", 2018 The Hague, Edition 1/50, $400. Photographic print on dubond. 10 x 15 x 1 cm

Left: "The Image"
The text along the ribbon reads: The spectacle is mesmeric in order to be successful Silkscreen on paper, 40 x 30 cm, ribbon + ink. Edition of 15. $600. I took this photo of my week old son in 1990, then silkscreened this and waited till I found a story for it, as expressed in the text.

And one of the "Wrappings" Text: This is a law of nature, the strong survive, 1994, silkscreen on nappy This is my eldest son again, now almost a year old and this is one of 24 images and texts in the 12 metre long, Wrapping for a Marginal Citizen. These phrases were things I felt or was told when I continued to take my baby with me out into the world. It was my response to being told that as a mother I had to keep my baby in the domestic world. sonjavank.com/wrapping.htm

Slide show and tellings at The Shutter Room
Free entry. Each talk will discuss 20 to 40 works.

Depth in Venice
Sunday, 7 April, 3-3:30 pm
followed by afternoon tea, includes Q and A. A smorgesbord of art seen during Sonja's
7 day 2022 Venice Biennale visit.

Fuzzy Edged Feminism
Thursday: 11 April 5 pm
Sonja’s contributions to the books, Feminist Activisims (Valiz, 2020) Mix and Stir, New Outlooks on Contemporary Art from Global Perspectives (Valiz, 2021). Focus on her artworks that blur boundaries and media.

The Gardeners
Friday: 19 April 9 pm
In 2006 Sonja co-created an interactive wall projection intended to 'garden' our movements - on interactive projects in relation to the social environment.

The art of community - on curating as process
Thursday: 25 April 5 pm

Artists are often seen as unique or singular but the reality is that our ideas are shaped by interaction. A show and tell of 3 decades of curating exhibitions in the Netherlands, the UK, and Aotearoa.

Videos + Photos: Showing the video Essences and Particularities with music by Evern Cellimi + then the video Waiporoporo (soundscape is by Frederick Betram) in the 1 min video clip showing in the window
9 Apr: Tomato Soup images and video - of the trespass spoil, the earthworks that slip ...
8 apr: photos with the "kainga" video in the window