Artist Profile:

Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes

Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes is a Maori artist from Waihopai (Invercargill). A member of the Kai Tahu, Kati Mamae, Waitaha, Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Hine iwi (tribes), her work is crafted using traditional techniques, handed down through many generations.

Cheree T O Downes’ tactile artwork fuses tradition with contemporary art elements; her passion, and the historical and storytelling elements capture the viewer. Cheree T O Downes 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 recycled materials such as metal, animal skins and rustic woods. “I enjoy using flax, that humble plant, to make beautiful things,” she says.

Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes has a strong background in the arts and performing arts and holds a Certificate in Maori Performing Arts from Te Wānanga o Raukawa. She has been involved in a huge number of cultural shows, galleries and exhibitions across New Zealand. Her artwork has been featured at WOW Wellington, Southland Museum and Art Gallery and Venture Southland’s ‘Matariki in the Park’. She has also completed commissions for Southland Hospital, Dunedin College of Education and many Southland marae and businesses.

In 2014, Cheree T O Downes 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 will tour nationwide in 2017.

Her art primarily tells stories of how Maori 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.