Maria O’Toole

Liminality

11–20 October 2024

Maria O’Toole creates lyrically abstract drawings in responseto her own particular environmental concerns. Her method begins with walking. The experience of her sensing body and the ecology she is studying intertwine as she investigates an intuitive space between perceiver and perceived.

‘Liminality’ includes a selection of new drawings built in response to her sensory experience of the coastal hill side space she inhabits. Listening is an important part of Maria’s practice. Marks are formed with pastel, crayon and oil stick, they are layered on her chosen surface until an imaginary space appears. A selection of previous work will be hung in conversation with this new work including ‘Poems to Oceania’, drawings in pure pigment crayons on black paper made while listening in at a compromised tidal zone in Vanuatu. Along with ‘Drawn Chorus’, work which evolved through concerns around the detrimental impact of human generated noise on humpback whales.

Maria is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and has a PhD in Fine Arts from Toi Rauwhārangi (Massey College of Creative Arts). She has exhibited in both Aotearoa and France and has been the recipient of numerous awards and residencies. Maria was a finalist in the 2023 National Contemporary Art Award.