Sign In / Register
Places, people and memories from the Hibiscus Coast take the spotlight in young artist Emmeline Batten’s first solo exhibition, making its debut on the Coast this October.
Between Hibiscus Flowers will be on display at Ōrewa Estuary Arts Centre from September 29 to October 26, showcasing paintings inspired by Emmeline’s young adulthood, travels and enduring connection to the place she calls home.
The 27-year-old was born and raised on Upper Waiwera Road, inland from Waiwera, and attended school on the Coast. In her young adulthood, she explored more of the area while living in flats across Red Beach, Ōrewa, Stanmore Bay and Waiwera.
Those experiences form the foundation of the exhibition, which explores ideas of home, belonging, growing up and the feeling of moving on. Alongside familiar Coast landscapes are paintings inspired by Emmeline’s travels and adventures overseas.
“I’ve just always loved art. I went to uni for marketing with a minor in English because I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I always just kept coming back to art,” she says.
Her work is heavily influenced by Magical Realism, combining dreamy landscapes and expressive techniques with the vibrant colours of Fauvism and Expressionism. Most of the exhibition’s works are oil paintings, although Emmeline also enjoys working with oil pastel and ceramics.
She says art has become a way of making sense of the world around her, with everyday experiences, travel and memories becoming material for her work. Her favourite part of painting is that “living and experiencing the world is my own research”.
The exhibition marks the end of Emmeline’s time in Auckland for now. She left the Hibiscus Coast in July to begin a new chapter in Christchurch, but says the area will always remain close to her heart, with her family still living here.
Emmeline describes Between Hibiscus Flowers as a showcase of contentment, gratitude, nostalgia and belonging, with each painting offering a glimpse into a particular memory or imagined moment.
Between Hibiscus Flowers runs at Ōrewa Estuary Arts Centre from September 29 to October 26.
