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In Kutarere Sunrise, New Zealand mixed media artist Lauren Lysaght encourages audiences to take the hand of her childhood self and brings them with her into the butcher shop once owned by her dad, Nelson Lysaght.

Inside, pinkish-red strings of saveloy and polony sausages hang on bright gold hooks, and behind the glass front of the display cabinet, roasts readied for the Sunday oven sit beside the gleaming silver trays of fresh ground mince.

With its mixture of dead seriousness and humour, female craft and reflections on male labour, Kutarere Sunrise, is a longing tribute to Nelson, who Lysaght remembers as a kind and loving father.

It’s joined by Trifecta, a thought-provoking multimedia installation dealing with racing and the associated social issues surrounding gambling, a subject relevant to many in New Zealand society.

The installation was gifted to Te Manawa in 2012; the artist felt it was pertinent to Manawatū, and also in memory of her late maternal grandfather, who was a successful horse breeder from Marton.

It is displayed here for the first time.

Tools of the Trade by Lauren Lysaght
Photo by Richard Wotton

Tools of the Trade by Lauren Lysaght
Photo by Richard Wotton

Trifecta by Lauren Lysaght