Chevron Hassett
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine
Chevron Hassett, born Lower Hutt, Aotearoa (NZ) is an early career artist of Māori (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine) and Pākehā (Irish) heritage. He graduated with a Bachelor of Design with Honours from Massey University in 2016 and was the recipient of the Ngā Manu Pirere award from Creative New Zealand in 2017, and was recently awarded the Springboard Award from The Arts Foundation.
Chevron is a visual artist predominantly working in lens-based media, sculpture and public installation. At the heart of his practice is the essential spirit of whanaungatanga, the Māori concept of connecting, building and maintaining relationships within communities. Hassett holistically collaborates with his local communities and peoples, his recent works engage with narratives of socio-cultural identities, urban indigeneity and colonialism within Pacific and indigenous histories.
He is currently practicing out of Hihiaua Cultral centre in Whangarei and has recently exhibited with Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Te Tuhi Art gallery, Seventh Gallery Melbourne , Hoea Gallery and Artspace Sydney.
Te Ara i Whiti
Chevron is one of our seven exhibiting artists for Te Ara i Whiti 2022. Chevron is exhibiting “Tumanako“, a large-scale illuminated sculptural work in the shape of a rainbow. When describing his mahi toi, Chevron states:
“My inspiration for making this artwork began about five years ago and has had a place in my heart ever since. There is this magical essence within a rainbow that holds wonder and nostalgia, radiating into a feeling that cannot be described with words. I remember as a kid hearing stories of ancestors transcending on rainbows from Hawaiki to get here. I was always in awe of how beautiful and amazing that sight would have been to see and how poetic it is to travel on a rainbow in the hope of new beginnings.
This artwork is a celebration of the essence of hope and wonder that exists within each of us and that provides us strength in times of need and hope, and guides us into new beginnings.”
You can check out Tumanako at Te Ara i Whiti from July 9-17, 2022 at Kelvin and Marina Park.
