Georgina May Young

Ūpokorehe, Te Whakatōhea, Irish, Scottish

Georgina May Young was born in Ōpōtiki and lives in Ōtepoti, Aotearoa with partner Sean and children Rocko and Aubrey. Georgina comes from a long whakapapa of makers, which is influential on her own mahi today, her practice is centred on loom, needle and thread. Drawing from indigenous and offshore woven histories, in her words, her art practice is a slow meditation on the powers and awe of life and our ecosystems, revolving around whenua, whānau and whakapapa. 

As a gardener, a dreamer and lover of the soil I end up spending a lot of time crouching in the garden with my hands in the soil working, I enjoy closely observing the intricate relationships and the diverse presence of life around me. There’s a deep ancestral connection and preciousness to landscape and time that I feel with my whakapapa and being a mother.

Collecting imagery, colour  and inspiration on walks in the bush and swimming at any possible chance with my whanau and friends.

An avid gardener and textile artist, Young’s work is informed by the process of time, weaving literally and figuratively between ancestral knowledge and optimistic futures. 

Georgina recently shared work as part of He Reka te Kūmara, an exhibition at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery curated by Madison Kelly, Mya Morrison Middleton, Aroha Novak and Piupiu Maya Turei. Through pūrākau, waiata, and mahi toi, He Reka te Kūmara created portals in to all the different forms of Mātauranga Māori.

You can check out some of her mahi here:

https://www.georginamayyoung.nz/

Georgina on Instagram: @georgina.may.young