By Isabel Gilbert-Palmer
I was magnetised by the originality of Dessa Bluu’s work Heritage on the Artist Gallery wall at the Mercury Bay Art Escape Opening in 2017, gleaming in all its golden glory. It was a brilliant, original, shiny take on an iconic possessions of many on the Peninsula. At first encounter, this led to following her work closely, and like many other admirers and acquirers, I became a witness to her radiant ability to colour the world.
Q: Dessa, where did you grow up? Tell me something about your family life and influences.
A: I was born in a small maternity hospital on Surrey Crescent opposite Grey Lynn Primary School and the Auckland Laundry into a family of six children, with my Samoan mother and Pākehā father. I grew up in the neighbouring areas of Westmere, Ponsonby, and Herne Bay. I’m reminded of the vivid colours and joyful impressions of those communities that were alive with the energy of our Māori and Polynesian people.
Q: When do you think your creative and art-making pathway began?
A: These were the people and my happy places; I believe that’s where my creativity truly began.
I harboured a deep love for drawing and writing from a young age. As I grew older my artistic expression expanded to painting and eventually to mosaic art where stained glass eventually became my chosen medium.
My thirst for colour art and textiles and searching for inspiring books is ongoing.
Q: Can you remember an early artwork?
A: My most memorable piece was a floral work on a 1960s mirror, and I’m hoping it’s still hanging where I left it. I first started creating mosaics in 1996, and from that moment, I knew I had discovered something quite special. It wasn’t immediately clear to me at that point that this would manifest into an art career, and although it wasn’t a traditional practice of my Polynesian heritage, who’s to say it wasn’t an art practice of my European ancestors?
Q: Describe your hands-on, creative process and where it led you to.
A: Fundamentally, it’s scoring through sheets of glass and using the fragmented pieces to form a cohesive and vibrant whole. My choice of using stained, iridised, and shimmering glass adds a dynamic element, reflecting light and creating a prismatic effect to symbolise the multifaceted nature of every creative expression I wish to convey.
Since moving to the Coromandel in 2015, I have significantly deepened my commitment to my artistic practice, thanks to being in the right place at the right time. Winning a top award at the Franklin Arts Festival held at the Steel Gallery in Pukekohe in 2017 boosted my confidence and propelled my art career forward. Consequently, I’ve been actively showcasing my work in various art shows and exhibitions.
Q: Looking back to Labour Weekend last year, 2023, you were a foundation member of the new Maori and Pasifika women’s art collective on the Peninsula who gathered for the first time and exhibited together for the first at Ringa Wera Ring Hera in the Kuaotunu Hall, a significant occasion.
A: Yes, I wrote this piece for the Whangamata newspaper soon after the exhibition:
“The overarching purpose of this exhibition was to celebrate the artistic talent of Māori and Pasifika wahine.”
It offered a platform for wahine artists to showcase their mahi and emphasise the rich cultural heritage that has been passed down through generations. This seminal exhibition not only paid homage to the creative legacy of Māori and Pasifika wahine but also aimed to inspire future generations, underscoring the enduring power and beauty of their artistry while welcoming new forms of expression.
Q: What are your thoughts about this Māori and Pasifika Collective today?
A: I dream of seeing this collective grow into something bigger than ourselves. Preserving and celebrating the rich Indigenous history of the Coromandel through our mahi is vital for future generations.
Q: How would you describe what’s table on your agenda work table at the moment?
A: Currently,I’m engaged in the creation of artwork, not exclusively within my primary mosaic art practice but rather to align with market demands. This period can be considered a form of downtime, during which I’ve recently submitted an outdoor piece to a Glass Exhibition in Auckland, Hibiscus, titled Ponsonby Bloom, alongside other works for various art award entries.
Ringa Wera Ring Hera Exhibition, Kūaotunu 2023
Dessa Bluu, Viv Cory-Wright, Mayor Len Salt, Kaetaeta Watson, Sandy Gaskill, Fiona Gates, Louisa Humphrey- absent Raewyn Helms Davis. Photo by The Informer 11/2023
Q: And looking further ahead, what’s your North Star? What are you looking towards?
A: Good question!
After a busy couple of years creating a substantial body of artwork that was exhibited at the Auckland Art Show, I’ve recently taken a step back to reevaluate what is following in the interim. I know where I want to be in the future, and my goal right now is to get there.
Portrait – titled Alan is in New York with the actual subject Alan. We have been in communication, and he is delightful! The following is his response to the portrait of himself. –
The stained glass windows “perfection”; the apotheosis of ingenuity, competency and insightfulness. I sense that you captured my very quintessence and inner-spirit; almost as if you embody my core/me to convey/transmute it into this poignant work of art.
Q: In the future, what’s a dream setting for you?
A: I want to secure an art residency in New York or Italy—it’s not a want, it’s a need! I also long to travel the world to see some incredible mosaic art. Imagine visiting the Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, the London Underground, and Park Güell in Spain. While in the States, I’d finally get to see the mosaic art by Millard Sheets and Jeanne Reynal.
Wouldn’t that be something!
Q: Thank you, Dessa, for this conversation and the signature closing question: What can’t you be without, and what do you always have with you?
A: I live and breathe Art, and what I always carry with me is hope: hope for peace, hope for forgiveness and compassion since my sheets of glass can’t come along.” I’ll leave you with a Van Gogh quote: ‘Art is to console those who are broken by life’—and that’s what art has done for so many of us—consoled!
Dessa is part of a pop-up group show in Kūaotunu over Labour Weekend:
GOOD ART IN SMALL SPACES | VISIBLE BEAUTY
Saturday – Monday 26-28th October 2024, 11- 5 Daily
Pop-up Gallery, 10 Irishtown Rd, Kūaotunu
