''Yes, Aucklanders, I’m missing you. All your noise and bustle, all your laughter and hustle, even your grumbling and rumbling.'' - Margaret Lewis.
Hello I’m … missing you stitched by Margaret Lewis, one of Auckland's contemporary textile artists and designed by Bhavesh Bhuthadia explores the many diverse communities of Tāmaki Makaurau, especially those living, working and playing in the central city which is also where they each work, live and play themselves.
Lockdowns during COVID highlight how lonely the city can be, especially as people increasingly live alone. This has an impact on people’s well-being. HELLO I’M invites people to think about how they might start a conversation, merge with other central city communities and even find the courage to start a new conversation or at the very least, empathise with the sentiments stitched onto our oversized Hello badges hanging up in Elliott St.
During this phase of the installation (and in challenging COVID conditions) Margaret Lewis has connected with people from different communities who have responded to the challenge of starting fun, welcoming, and even challenging conversations.
This idea originally started as a piece of public programming for Margaret Lewis’s solo exhibition ‘dis-ease’ in March 2020. Lockdown meant that this project had barely begun before everything came to a grinding halt. The original proposition was that in many social situations people are slightly awkward and need some ways to break the ice. People were invited to stitch their own badge to wear. This evolved into a residency for Lewis and Bhuthadia in caravannex at Objectspace in November 2020 and the idea of banners was born.
Looking forward, this project wants to work with people from some of Tāmaki Makaurau’s many communities to make banners that say things that they want to say and in their own language. There are Arabic, Cantonese and Gujarati banners underway for this series…And more engagements coming for people to share.
Artists' social links:
Margaret Lewis: www.dmargaretlewis.com // Instagram - @dmlewisnz
Bhavesh Bhuthadia: www.theopenfort.com // Instagram - @creativebhav
Part of Artweek in the city centre
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