Julia Morison (born 1952) is a New Zealand artist working across a wide range of media including painting, sculpture, photography, installation and recently ceramics.

Education

Morison completed a Diploma in Graphic Design from Wellington Polytechnic School of Design,

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

in 1972. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

School of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

in 1975.

Career

Morison was awarded the

Frances Hodgkins Fellowship The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, established in 1962, is one of New Zealand's premier arts residencies. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable artists. Purpose The position is based at the University of Otago in Du ...

in 1988 and undertook the Moët & Chandon contemporary art residency in Avize, France in 1990. After the year long residency she remained in France for ten years. In 1999 Morison became Senior Lecturer in Painting at the University of Canterbury, a position she held until 2007. Morison received a Laureate Award from the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The foundatio ...

in 2005. A major survey exhibition on Morison's work, ''A loop around a loop: Julia Morison'' was organised by the

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

and the

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as ...

in 2006, and curated by Felicity Milburn and

Justin Paton Justin Paton (born 1972) is a New Zealand writer, art critic and curator, currently based in Sydney, Australia. His book ''How to Look at a Painting'' (2005) was adapted into a 12-episode television series by TVNZ in 2011. Education Paton stu ...

. In 2012 Morison was inducted into the

College of Creative Arts' Hall of Fame. In the same year her exhibition ''Meet me on the other side'' showed at Christchurch Art Gallery and

City Gallery Wellington City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. History City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi began its life as the Wellington City Art Gallery on 23 September 1980 in a former office block located at 65 ...

. In 2013 her public sculpture ''Tree Houses for Swamp Dwellers'' was installed in central Christchurch as part of the SCAPE public art project. A response to the devastating

Christchurch earthquakes A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region in the South Island, centred south-east of the centr ...

, the work is designed to be a permanent but relocatable feature of the city. In the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

, Morison was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to visual arts.

Work

Morison's early work (from the time she finished art school) concentrated on 'severely formalist' paintings. After taking a break from exhibiting, in the mid 1980s Morison returned with a series of complex and ambitious works which became signatures in her career. Large multi-part works such as ''Vademecum'' (1986) and ''Golem'' (1987) are based on a system Morison created based on the number 10, referencing the Sefirothic Tree of

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

and using ten 'logos' and ten key materials ('transparency', gold, silver, 'iridescence', lead, mercury or mercuric-oxide, clay, ash, blood, excrement), in various combinations. These systems continue to inform much of the artist's work. This system has informed a great many of her paintings and installation works, and she continues to work with replicating forms (like the Celtic knot) and organising principles (like Victorian myriorama). In 1997 Morison collaborated with fashion designer Martin Grant on ''Material evidence: 100-headless woman'' , a series of ten dresses, each three metres high and each based on a specific material, such as gold, silver, lead, excrement, blood, pearl, and clay. After the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...

Morison could not continue painting and instead began making sculptural works, using plaster, clay, the liquefaction sediment from the earthquake and found objects. Recently she has been working on a major new series of porcelain and stoneware ceramic head forms, called ''Headcases''. She has currently produced about 30 works from an intended series of 100.

Collections

Morison's work in held in many New Zealand public gallery collections, including Christchurch Art Gallery,

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

and the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

Reviews

*Gina Irish, 'My Place: Julia Morison', ''Art New Zealand'', no 109, Summer 2003–2004 *John Hurrell, 'Morison Sculpture in Auckland', EyeContact, 29 November 2011 *Creon Upton, 'Morison's Plaster Wall Sculptures', EyeContact, 22 September 2013 *Andrew Paul Wood, 'Morison Tree Houses in Christchurch', EyeContact, 12 October 2013 *Mark Amery, 'Short Shrift', The Big Idea, 8 October 2014 *Allan Smith, 'Julia Morison's Headcases', EyeContact, 9 April 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morison, Julia Living people 1952 births Ilam School of Fine Arts alumni New Zealand painters People from Pahiatua New Zealand women painters New Zealand ceramicists New Zealand women ceramicists New Zealand women sculptors New Zealand sculptors New Zealand photographers New Zealand women photographers Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit