Merylyn Tweedie (born 1953) is a multi-media artist from New Zealand. In 2004 she won the

Walters Prize The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand ab ...

, New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize, and in 2003 her work was selected to represent New Zealand at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

Biography

Tweedie was born in Christchurch in 1953 and attended

Rangi Ruru Girls' School Rangi Ruru Girls' School is a New Zealand private school, private girls' day and boarding school, boarding secondary school located in Merivale, Christchurch, Merivale, an inner suburb of Christchurch. The school is affiliated with the Presbyte ...

. She began exhibiting in 1975; initially she created and exhibited photographs, and later moved into collages, found objects and films. In 1992 Tweedie joined seven other artists (Kirsty Cameron,

Judy Darragh Judith Ann Darragh (born 1957) is a New Zealand artist who uses found objects to create sculptural assemblages. She has also worked in paint and film. Darragh is represented in a number of public collections in New Zealand. In 2004, The Museum ...

, Gail Haffern, Giovanni Intra,

Denise Kum Denise Kum (born 1968) is a New Zealand artist. Her works are held in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the University of Auckland art collection. Biography Kum was born in Auckla ...

, Lucy Macdonald and Daniel Malone) to open an artist-owned exhibition space in Vulcan Lane, Auckland, known as

Teststrip Teststrip was an artist run gallery that operated in Auckland, New Zealand from 1992 to 1997. History In late 1992 the artists Kirsty Cameron, Judy Darragh, Gail Haffern, Giovanni Intra, Denise Kum, Lucy Macdonald, Daniel Malone and Mery ...

, which ran until 1997. The work which was selected for the 2003 Venice Biennale was created under the pseudonym et al., which presents itself as a collective of artists headed by Tweedie, but is in fact Tweedie herself. The installation, ''the fundamental practice'', used sound, computers and mechanical devices and was designed to question the way people consume information and the media power structures of our societies. The selection of et al. to represent New Zealand was met with some controversy in the country as misinformation regarding the artist's identity, income and the use of public money was circulated in the media. However the installation was met with praise from international art critics and reviewers. Tweedie's work is held in the collection of

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 ...

, 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

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweedie, Merylyn Living people 21st-century New Zealand artists Artists from Christchurch 1953 births People educated at Rangi Ruru Girls' School 21st-century New Zealand women artists 20th-century New Zealand artists 20th-century New Zealand women artists