Shapeshifter, a solo retrospective exhibition by Carmen Brown, presented Brown’s unique way of seeing and offered Christchurch a defiant sense of place, regeneration, recovery and hope.    

Featuring work spanning almost 20 years, the exhibition included painstakingly detailed work characterised by patterns and shapes, as well as highly gestural work.  Brown approaches diverse subjects, including buildings, people, places, flowers, ships and ladybirds, with humour that is in turn menacing and whimsical, with cartoonish renderings of historical and local characters such as Captain Cook and The Wizard of Christchurch.  

Depicting shifting dimensions that echo the destruction of buildings in the earthquakes, the work in Shapeshifter included well known Christchurch landmarks The Arts Centre and the Christchurch Cathedral.

“I like dismantling buildings and blowing them all out of proportion, exaggerating them, twisting and distorting them,” Brown said.

Other work is futuristic, envisaging parallel universes, unknown worlds, and the cosmic. Brown hints at the possibility of time travel.

Prior to the earthquakes, Brown had a studio at The Arts Centre, had held two solo exhibitions, was featured in an Artsville documentary film, and had won a national art award.  After the earthquakes that trajectory was disrupted – she lost her home, her studio, and much of her work. The artists Brown had worked alongside at The Arts Centre had dispersed.  Brown was delighted to be exhibiting at The Arts Centre again. “It has brought back many memories and has inspired me to do a lot more. Art is my life.”

Shapeshifter was supported by a Creative New Zealand Arts Grant.