Event Details
Come along to a special event to celebrate the launch of Wonder Goggles: Vanessa Arthur, a new publication exploring connections between the everyday and the extraordinary through jewellery, paint, and installation. Free, no booking required.
Edited by Sophie Davis with contributions by Vanessa Arthur, Tryphena Cracknell, Liam Jacobson and Lisa Walker. Designed by Ebony Holt.
The launch will include a conversation with Vanessa Arthur, Lisa Walker, Sophie Davis and Ebony Holt.
Refreshments will be provided.
Copies will be available to purchase for $50.
ISBN: 978-0-473-78235-1
About the book:
Wonder Goggles builds on a solo exhibition held at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery, a body of work which grew from Arthur’s interest in observation, and her first memory of wonder — witnessing Halley’s Comet at age four in 1986.
Developed in close collaboration with the artist, this publication documents and extends Arthur’s exhibition. Wonder Goggles features newly commissioned writing and conversation that maps the terrain of Arthur’s practice, from its roots in contemporary jewellery to its reach into painting, installation, and the poetics of everyday observation.
Designed by Ebony Holt, who has created a custom “bent metal” typeface in direct response to Arthur’s work, it brings together studio photography, drawings, and a series of iPhone photographs of signage and urban environments that have directly shaped Arthur’s making.
Contributors:
Vanessa Arthur is a jeweller and artist based in Heretaunga Hastings. In 2011, she completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts at Whitireia New Zealand, and was selected for Handshake, a leading mentorship programme for contemporary jewellers. Arthur has since exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently presenting a selection of her Wonder Goggles works at SCHMUCKmuenchen 2026, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.
Tryphena Cracknell (Rongomaiwahine) is Te Matau-a-Māui born and raised. She is a superfan of contemporary New Zealand jewellery. Her writing reflects a deep appreciation for material culture, spanning art, textiles, fashion, adornment, and Māori arts practice. Her passion for native flora and fauna extends to conservation and co-authoring Aotearoa in Bloom, a celebration of Aotearoa’s native flowering plants.
Sophie Davis is Director at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery. For the past decade she has worked as a curator, editor, and leader of public galleries and arts organisations. Sophie is particularly interested in relationships between contemporary art, labour, and collective discussion.
Ebony Holt (Ngāti Hauiti) is Senior Creative at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery. She is a graphic designer with experience across creative spaces and businesses and holds a Bachelor of Graphic Design from WINTEC.
Liam Jacobson (Kāi Tahu) is a writer and artist from Tāmaki Makaurau. They have written for galleries and publications and performed across Aotearoa and overseas. Their poetry book Neither was published by Dead Bird Books in 2023. Jacobson is currently facilitating Puku, a gallery space, as part of Te Tuhi’s curatorial internship.
Lisa Walker is a Wellington-based contemporary jeweller. She studied at Otago Polytechnic Art School (1988–89) and the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München (1995–2001) under Otto Künzli. Awards include the Françoise van den Bosch Award, Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and the Bavarian State Prize.