Pioneers
Exhibition Dates: 11 October – 1 November 2025
Opening 5pm - 7pm Friday 10 October 2025
The Shutter Room, Whangarei presents a new exhibition of work by Chris Brady that examines the idea of “pioneers” in its broadest sense. Drawing parallels between human expansion and the quiet persistence of the natural world, the exhibition invites audiences to consider the complex narratives of colonisation, cultivation, resilience, and renewal.
Humans have long defined themselves as pioneers — explorers of uncharted territory, settlers of new lands, and masters of resources shaped to serve their own needs. This impulse to claim, control, and reshape landscapes has left lasting marks on both culture and ecology.
In contrast, the exhibition turns attention to the overlooked pioneers of the plant world: weeds and wild species that instinctively move into barren ground, restoring life where it has been stripped away. These plants, often dismissed as unwanted, serve as healers of damaged soils, slowly transforming desolate spaces into fertile ground once again.
Through sculpture, installation, and photographic works, Pioneers aims to reflect on these dual dimensions that chart the tensions between human ambition and ecological resilience, while opening a dialogue about regeneration, coexistence, and the possibility of new forms of stewardship.
The exhibition asks: What does it mean to be a pioneer today? Can we rethink the legacy of human expansion in light of nature’s quiet but persistent restorative power? And what steps might we take, in both our creative practices and our daily habits, to build an existence that is at once sustainable and in balance?
For media enquiries, interviews, or images, please contact:
P – 021 147 8720