Tracey Black, te purapura o te rā / the seed of the sun
Tracey Black documents ritualistic mark making, domestic activity and the passing of time within her works. Process and chance are of equal importance in Black’s art making; many works are based on the accumulation or accretion of marks made by daily activity. Each piece in Black’s Te purapura o te rā / the seed of the sun series is constructed from countless tiny slivers of paint. She layered, then carved through 54 coats of house paint to achieve the subtly variegated colours and textures we see in these pieces.
Originally from Wellington and later a resident of Auckland, Tracey Black worked as a university tutor and schoolteacher in addition to making art. She relocated to Melbourne, Australia in 2013 where she now lives with her husband and two children.