Hannah Kidd
Please Come Home, 2017
Steel rod, corrugated iron
840mm x 850mm x 40mm
“Please Come Home” is a work that has a true sense of place. Created for the opening show “The Return” at The Central, housed in the Old Library building in The Arts Centre, Kidd’s artwork speaks to viewers in both personal and public sense.
Kidd’s personal history and connection with The Arts Centre go back to her childhood, her father Maurice was a set builder with the Court Theatre for many years, and Hannah spent many an afternoon with her sisters watching him work, investigating sets and playing backstage. Experiences which undoubtedly informed her decision to become a sculptor.
Reflecting on these “Please come home” represents her personal homecoming to a place that was a pivotal part of her childhood memories. For us at The Central and to those who have viewed this work in the gallery it fufills a wider homecoming - that of the Christchurch people to The Arts Centre, after many years of repair and refurbishment post-quake.
In terms of her art practise “Please Come Home” is a both a continuation and a departure. This work demonstrates her exceptional skill in creating welded works that despite their heavy metal susbstance, effortlessley convey soft form and life. It is also a wonderfully venacular subject matter, the embroidered cushion is a familiar object that many a New Zealand home holds.
This is also where a departure happens however – previously Kidd’s works have been primarily focused on animal subjects, often conveying messages about the human condition. In this work she explores a new vein and pushes her practise forward in the exploration of object as subject, yet still her work evokes a very human connection and response when viewed.
Hannah Kidd graduated in 2001 from the Otago Polytechnic School of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture). Her work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout New Zealand and worldwide. Overseas shows inlude I’m Sure I’ve Seen that before, Vienna, Austria (2002), Sculpture by the Sea, Australia (2007, 2009 and 2011) Sculpture by the Sea, Denmark (2009 and 2011). Works that have become synonymous with Kidd’s name in Christchurch are a series of figurative works from 2015 titled “Avonside Drive”. Produced for SCAPE 8 these are currently positioned within the Restart Mall in the central city.
