Hamish Foote + Bronwynne Cornish: Shadowland

Shadowland brings together the work of Hamish Foote and Bronwynne Cornish - enriching the conversation between their works.  These two artists share a long history of collaboration, both as exhibiting artists and as colleagues at Auckland Unitec. 

Foote draws on influences ranging from George Stubbs and Hans Memling,  to Leonardo da Vinci, while grounding his practice in a distinctly New Zealand context. His paintings often carry conservationist undertones — for example, depictions of leucistic birds, which might be seen as rare and fortunate sightings, are instead signalling a troubling decline in genetic diversity. Foote’s Renaissance references also speak to the birth of the scientific revolution. In his painting titled 'I Walk Away', he places a Kiwi striding into the exotic landscape of a 15th-century Memling painting, collapsing centuries of history and cultural perspective into a single image.

Cornish is renowned for her ceramic practice, which explores mythology, spirituality, and the natural world with both wit and reverence. Her works frequently employ archetypal imagery, creating tactile connections between the earthly and the imagined.

Cornish’s practice enters into dialogue with Foote’s imagery - the three 'Egg Guardians' stand watch over the eggs that often appear in Foote’s works -  posing the question: “Are these the last eggs"?