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 2017 and was the recipient of the Ngā Manu Pirere award from Creative New Zealand.
Hassett 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.
Recent exhibitions include, Head in the clouds, Artspace, Sydney, 2021, JustUs, Enjoy Gallery, Wellington, 2020, Commoner, St Paul St Gallery, Auckland, 2020, Companions, Pari_Ari Gallery, Sydney, 2020, Strands, The Dowse Museum, Lower Hutt, 2019, Kōhanga, Firstdraft, Sydney, 2019, Visual Arts Residency, Toi Pōneke, Wellington, 2019.
Te Ara i Whiti
Chevron Hassett is one of our twelve exhibiting artists for Te Ara i Whiti 2021.
Drawing from Te Kani-a-Takirau’s famous whakatauki “Ehara taku maunga a Hikurangi he maunga nekeneke, he maunga tū tonu”, Chevron presents Tū Tonu as a 5m vertical pou. It is strong, has depth and showcases the character of the East Coast. It reflects on the importance for Chevron to build and maintain relationships with communities. To Chevron Tū Tonu can reference the maunga, the Whenua, the people, the ahi ka, and pays a personal homage to his Koro.
