Artist Profile:

Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes

Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes is a local Māori artist from Murihiku, Southland.  Her work is crafted using traditional techniques, handed down through many generations.

Cheree's tactile artwork fuses tradition with contemporary art elements; her passion, the historical and storytelling elements capture the viewer. Cheree was taught to weave over twenty years ago by her family, friends and elders. She weaves harakeke (flax) and muka (flax fibre) and combines these with various materials such as metal, animal skins and rustic woods.

Cheree has a strong background in the arts and performing arts and education. She has been involved in a huge number of cultural shows, galleries and exhibitions across New Zealand and Australia. She has completed a number of commissions for local marae, government agencies, N.G.O’s, Education providers, businesses and privately. Cheree’s artwork is held in private collections nationally and throughout the world.

In 2014, Cheree was selected as one of 26 significant and emerging New Zealand artists to contribute to a special exhibition curated by the Department of Conservation. The Tamatea/Dusky Sound art exhibition sought to increase awareness of the area’s unique ecosystem and ‘bio bank’ project. The Tamatea-inspired artworks toured nationwide in 2017.

Her art primarily tells stories of how Māori identify and interact with the environment, with particularly strong connections to her home in Murihiku (Southland). “When I make my art, I often think about our elders who are not here anymore,” she says. “I love that people can relate and connect to this in their own way. They can find themselves in it, the colours, shapes or the whole piece may relate to them, their family or their lives as a whole.”

Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes - Artist profile from Artbay Gallery, Queenstown, NZ on Vimeo.