Kia Orana Tatou Katoatoa,
I am deeply honoured to open this exciting and life-affirming exhibition by Cook
Islands Permanent Resident, Kay George. Her triumphant flourishes and brilliant
strokes of colour in this new work give her art a deep sensory experience.
"Art for art's sake" (from the French phrase l'art pour l'art) is a philosophy stating
that true art needs no moral, political, or educational purpose.
Kay’s art exists to deepen everyday understanding. To comfort, to provoke, to
educate or commemorate, to beautify, or catalyse change in ordinary life. Its worth
is measured by effects on living people, and especially the Cook Islands
communities. Art is so important to Kay; she must create, participate, and surround
herself by it. Or most importantly, express herself by using it, otherwise her quality
of life will be negatively affected.
Kay grew up in Rotorua and moved to Sydney in the early 1980s. Kay says this was
during the early days of the ‘punk scene’, when everything was free and easy and
raw. I think we can all visualise a punk Kay! She has not changed too much. Kay
began with hand painting, then moved onto screen printing, learning as she went.
However, it was when Kay moved to Rarotonga with her late husband and fellow
artist, Ian George, she was able to expand her work from canvas and hardboard into
fashion fabrics.
I first met a very young, sparkling Kay in 1988, when she took part in an exhibition
of contemporary art. This was her first show in Rarotonga, and it was held on the
verandah of the iconic Banana Court.
“The Art Studio”, established by Kay and Ian, was originally the shop owned by Dr.
Fariu’s family and situated in the centre of Arorangi. This was where Kay first
displayed her ‘one-of-a-kind’ fashion pieces.
Kay designed a gorgeous, vibrantly painted linen dress for me. I wore this creation
for years before having it transformed into a brilliant tablecloth. It made an
interesting conversation piece. This evening my dress is another of Kay’s
masterpieces!
Over the last four decades, Kay has impressed us all with her vast range of work.
Her photographic images continue to document social and environmental change
within the Cook Islands. She has captured the shifting patterns of community life,
a raft of celebrations and the Cook Islands identity. Her photographs have been
reinterpreted through layers of colour, texture and design, transforming
observations into enduring reflections on place, memory and cultural revolution.
Kay’s hand-painted and screen-printed garments were included in the 1992 Pacific
Fashion Show, Festival of Pacific Arts, held in Rarotonga. She was also a Designer
Finalist at the 1999 New Zealand Fashion Awards, and in 2005 Kay collaborated with
Cook Islands Fashion Label, TAV, for New Zealand Fashion Week.
In 2006 Kay and Ian created a beautiful space for the community to exhibit art, at
their “ The Art Studio” in Arorangi, now Beluga Café. Kay’s beachside home is filled to
overflowing with her and Ian’s eclectic artwork. Today, locals and tourists alike can
meet Kay in her charming garden container studio, “Kay George Textiles”
.
In 2008 Kay earned a Master of Art and Design from the Auckland University of
Technology. This culminated in “Pagerns of IdenKty” exhibition held in 2010 at her
“The Art Studio”.
Over recent years, Kay’s shows have marked important moments in time. In July
2018, thirty years to the day, since Kay first arrived in the Cook Islands, her solo
show, “Years of Colour”, opened at Bergman Gallery. This was a history of her work
from the very first painting she created in the Cook Islands, to new works following
the sad passing of her beloved husband, Ian, in 2016.
This spectacular exhibition included 50 works showcasing Kay’s multimedia
approach. Wall hangings and fabrics, lampshades, organza silk curtains, and digital
vinyl were displayed alongside vividly painted window seats, tables and chairs. The
majority of female guests arrived wearing stunning Kay George vintage clothing.
Kay has continued to exhibit with Bergman Gallery on a series of notable solo and
group presentations. These have included Tatau 2002, as well as a travelling group
exhibition, MANUIA, in New York City in 2010.
In 2024, Bergman Gallery presented Kay’s solo exhibition “Beyond the Veil of
Paradise” at its Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland space. In 2025, Kay participated in To
Tatou Marama – Our Light, a major group exhibition at the Bergman Gallery here in
Rarotonga, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Cook Islands self-governance.
This evening we have once again been transported into a different world by this
kaleidoscope of brilliant colours.
“What Remains”
The general artistic tradition of making art about mortality, loss, and the passage of
time is known as “Memento Mori”, Latin for "remember that you will die".
Ancient Egyptian tombs were filled with images, objects and inscriptions intended
to accompany the dead into another existence. Across different cultures, burial
objects, sculptures and architectural structures gave physical form to something
that is otherwise impossible to see: that is, the absence of a person.
But death does not necessarily have to mean disappearance. A name can remain.
An image can remain. An object can remain. A structure can remain.
Art gives absence a physical form.
The enormous monument and the elaborate tomb, have often given way to objects
that are smaller, more intimate, and more closely connected to domestic life. A
memorial can now exist on a shelf, inside a room, or within an object whose
significance is understood only by the person who lives alongside it.
The human desire to make something remain is remarkably familiar.
The significant and extraordinary new body of work we see here this evening, was
created after Kay’s dear Mum passed on.
Kay has executed a project that takes as its starting point, the objects, traces and
stories that persist, or emerge, after the death of those close to us. She shifts our
gaze. It is no longer simply a matter of thinking about disappearance, but rather of
considering what continues, what we keep and what we leave behind.
“What Remains”, opens a space for sharing the lived experience of grief, outside
normative frameworks. It invites us to bring forward stories that are often left
unspoken, to recognise their legitimacy, and to be reminded that we all stay
connected.
Kay has portrayed a complex mix of the tangible items that have been left behind,
and the intangible echoes they shaped in the lives of others. The quiet in a room
where a voice used to be, the empty seat at a table. Spoken or unspoken words,
lingering questions, and the sharp realisation that future chapters in a life have been
permanently cancelled.
As Kay has reflected on recent losses, both personal and distant, she asks not just
what she has lost, but what remains. What of these people, these presences, still
lingering in her memory? How can she share their stories and integrate that loss
into our lives?
By approaching grief not merely as a state of sadness, but as an experience to be
lived, Kay George remains attentive to what we keep and what we let go.
In her painting, “I Should Be So Lucky”, Kay celebrates the resilience of women, the
generosity and quiet strength of the enduring friendships of the many women in
Kay’s life. Some gone, but no one forgotten.
Kay’s paintings are definitely not whispered. Her figures, fabrics, lively colours, and
flashes of thought, sing and re-echo. Her textile-based works bring those who have
left us, to mind. Kay invites us to walk alongside our past, to find the joys that lift
us, and our own ways of being.
As we contemplate Kay’s work, take time to also reflect on the titles she has chosen
Each title is from a song which expresses a particular vibe, mood
for each piece. or emotion.
In her own words, Kay says: “I never rely on what’s coming up next. I go with the
flow. You’ve got to have the positive and negative, because that helps you keep
grounded. But, somehow, I always come back and reinvent myself. I’m always
excited about what’s going to come up. I still have to have the passion to keep
creating spontaneously, and when that passion stops, that’s when I will give up my
artwork”
.
Kay, you are still the same dazzling and fun-loving person I met almost 40 years ago.
You are an inspiration not only to your fellow and aspiring artists, but also to us
novices who appreciate and love your work. Your vision will continue to enthuse
artists for generations to come. Congratulations on this spectacular showcase of
your own inimitable art.
I now declare the exhibition, “What Remains” open.
Finally, I invite everyone to raise their glass in a toast to Kay George, artist
extraordinaire.
To Kay!
Meitaki Ma’ata e Kia Manuia
Helen Henry
