Wednesday, December 14, 2016
published piece on my work
http://www.masqmag.com/blog/2016/11/30/a-breath-of-wind-to-brush-past-images-of-bloodline
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
http://djaemcdees.wixsite.com/mysite
http://djaemcdees.wixsite.com/mysite
Photography by D&Briez Photography Ltd
Make up worn: Anastasia Contour kit http://www.makeup.co.nz/anastasia-beverly-hills.html
Lips Kylie Jenner lip kit Dolce K
Model Brie M
Photo taken on Nikon D5100
#mac#Nikon #DolceK #Model #Anastasia #makeup
Check it
Saturday, November 5, 2016
D&Briez Photography Ltd
Make up worn: Anastasia Contour kit http://www.makeup.co.nz/anastasia-beverly-hills.html
Lips Kylie Jenner lip kit Dolce K
Model Brie M
Photo taken on Nikon D5100
#Nikon #DolceK #Model #Anastasia #makeup
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
If I'm painting
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Friday, September 16, 2016
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Saturday, September 3, 2016
HI GUYS
Check out my new website
Introducing D&Briez Photography
http://djaemcdees.wixsite.com/mysite
Hope you like
Introducing D&Briez Photography
http://djaemcdees.wixsite.com/mysite
Hope you like
Don't be shy to email us for a quote
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
attn all Cook islanders
Kia orana, please delete if not allowed, I was wondering if someone could help me, I am writing my artist statement and I am a little stuck on how to write a passage due to not been raised within my culture or knowing very much about it as I wasn't whangied (Sorry don't know the Cook Is word)
whether a quote or a sentence maybe proverb, I am trying to find a way to say, I use my daughter within my work to show she is apart of me and my bloodline, the reason i am not in my own work is,
I am trying to show the relationship between my birth father and myself.
I am trying to show the relationship between my birth father and myself.
I want people to know that although i didn't have the chance to meet him before he passed away, I still feel like I am apart of him, and think of my adoption as my fathers gift, my work is my way of carrying on his heritage as a Cook Islander and returning that gift.
I was thinking of adding something like seeing my work in the Cook Islands or visiting would be my way of returning to my roots and finding my way home. Any help or advice would be so greatly appreciated I wouldn't need you to write my statement I am just looking for advice or help :)
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
Monday, July 18, 2016
Hi guys please check out my new work,
Please check out my PHOTOGRAPHY work and give me a like and share @
https://www.facebook.com/debriez.22photography/
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
What makes me the Ethnicity I am?
What
makes me the Ethnicity I am?
The most common thing that all of our guest
speakers had, was a solid knowledge of themselves and their culture. By them
knowing this, it gave each guest, a strong ground to work on, in being able to
back up their work with ease. As one of my questions, put towards our panel
was, what makes you the nationality/ethnicity you are? I decided to cover this
subject in my essay, is your ethnicity your blood? How you were raised? Or
where you were born? With all of these questions on what I didn’t know, I
decided that my subject , would be about myself, my artwork and my culture. Although put in to a contextual way,
describing how I was raised, and how it has made me who I am today, including
the side of myself, that I don’t know a lot about, and how that has still
molded me in to the person I am.
I thought I would start with the hardest
question, and that, would have to be, “what don’t I know about myself”?
Although would like too.
Short answer, I don’t know the Rarotongan
language, and I don’t know very much about my birth fathers life. Apart from him
being from the Cook Islands.
I was inspired by this Maori proverb, which
made me want to know more; “Whaia to iti kahurangi kit e tuohu koe me he maunga
teitei”. Which means: Seek the treasure you value most dearly; if you bow your
head, let it be to a lofty mountain. www.maori.cl/proverbs , 03/06/2015. Website
So this is what I learnt, through an
interview about myself.
My Rarotongan side
I know my Father was a Cook Islander, and
without him, there would be no me. I am proud, and hope to bring the past in to
the future by being a part of him.
How do I acknowledge myself as a
Rarotongan/Cook Islander?
My Acknowledgement of my father is my life, I
know without my birth parents, I wouldn’t be Rarotongan, if my father wasn’t
who he was, then I may not of been Rarotongan at all. I also acknowledge it
through my artwork, I try to make his life, still exist, as though he is a part
of me. I am inspired by Rarotongan everything, so that I might learn more about
my culture.
My Art
The use of symbolism, by using Turtles,
flowers and tattoos, trees and beaches, in my work, although I don’t use them
to describe my work in the same way Fatu Feu’u does with his painting, memory
of the orator (1995) .
Before I knew I was Rarotongan, I have been
painting and drawing these things as though I was drawn to it, I do feel as
though before I can remember, I have been guided along the way by the presence
of my father, just like the myths and legends that we have learnt about.
There is always a meaning behind my work
relating, and tying me back to my Rarotongan side.
My blood
My Grandparents came from the Cook Islands
and were cook islanders, like the book Ethnicity, Nationalism and minority
rights states, Chinese food, eaten by Chinese, in a Chinese restaurant, eaten overseas,
is food, or regional food etc…
Where is, the same food eaten by
(non-Chinese) in the same restaurant becomes “ethnic food”.
Which made me think, even though, I don’t
know very much about, my Rarotongan side, I still do know that, my Father was a
Cook islander, my Grandparents were Cook Islanders, so whether I know about it
or not, I am still a Cook Islander.
Because I was not raised by Rarotongan’s, and
I am living in diaspora, does that make me less of the ethnicity I feel?
Not quite black enough, not quite white
enough, so will I be left explaining my whiteness like Lester Halls, artist
statement, where it sounds like he apologizes for being white, explaining that
he just does the artwork that he feels passionate about.
I have been able to meet some of my
relatives, meeting my cousins and siblings, for the first time, was a step into
knowing my roots as a Pacific islander. This is the same way I interpreted
Dwyer’s words when he states “Ethnicity is a product of contact not isolation”
Stories of my father, and being able to have some knowledge of who he used to
be, holds me to my blood ties. Dwyer’s quote, Ethnicity, Nationalism
and Minority Rights. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. 12/05/2015
My Genes
I question who he was? And long for the need
to be acknowledged by family.
I teach my children to know that they are part Cook Islander, and not to
carry that lightly in making sure they carry on the culture. With 60,333 Cook
Islander Maoris in New Zealand we need to be aware, of our roles and ethnicity
making sure that our culture doesn’t die out. (New Zealand Hearld 2015 taken from the New Zealand Satistics Record)
Hearld, N., & Hutchins, L. (2015, March 7). Pacific City. Pacific People
Living in New Zealand.
Respect
I still acknowledge my father why? Like the
words spoken by Yolande Ah Chong If you don’t who will? Our stories need to be
told. Through my art work, I include my father to keep his memory and name
alive.
This is what I took from the book Culture and Identity in New Zealand,
when I read what is it when we search for cultural identity? And it goes on to
say, is it to have a unified view of their culture or is it, just so you can
relate to a larger group, and be able to identify with the commonness of a
group. Chong,
Y. A. (Director) (2015, March 30). Who are you? Pacific histories
with an eccentric view class panel. Lecture conducted in, Auckland.at
M.i.t visual arts campus
My Maori Side
I have always known I was part Maori through
my birth mother, sometimes I try to deny that part of me, simply because I have
always known I am part Maori, and I feel it is unfair to my Rarotongan side.
Echoing the words of Rosanna Raymond, being half Maori and Samoan and Siliga
Satonga, being Samoan, although raised in New Zealand, and at the time, around
a predominantly white world. Remaining true to your culture, when you are
unsure of it, and being able, to relate to it, is a very hard thing to do. I am
slowly coming to the realization that in order to be myself, although I am a
half-caste, without one of my ethnicities, I am neither.
I would not be here without my Maori side,
and there are stories to be told through that side as well, in order for my
family to be who they are, their stories need to be told. I try to look at it
as though, this VA has been disrupted, and with time can be reactivated.
Reflecting on my Maori side, I see how my life could have been, and
realize, I may not of been as privileged as I am. Uhila, K. (Director) (2015, March 13). The Va. Guest speaker. Lecture conducted in
Auckland.
Tongan
The answer I got from Leilani Kake, when I
questioned her on Ethnicity was, whatever you feel you are, as long as you are
being true to yourself and culture, I also gathered that information from
science, and sociology about ethnicity when it states; yet too many
expectations to this sort of racial grouping have been found to make any racial
categorizations truly viable. This fact that no clear cut races exist, only
assorted physical and genetic variations across human individuals and groups. Kake, L. (Director) (2015, February 27). What is Moananui? Guest speaker. Lecture
So does this mean, you may well just be, the
ethnicity you are surrounded by, in that case, I have no, Tongan blood, however
like to think of myself as a part of a Tongan family, as well , because, I am
married to a Tongan, and have Tongan children, their heritage as pacific
islanders is made stronger by myself, and my husband, their stories are a part
of mine, and mine theirs, like the book Ethnicity’s and multi culturalism states voluntary
in its conception of group affiliation and group boundaries new groups may
emerge, older groups man coalesce, or disappear.
Pakeha
My Art
I am a perfectionist at heart, I get this
from my dad who is exactly the same as me, or rather me of him, I like to think
I am organized and punctual, I am the same as my Dad, he has always taught me
that if you want something done right, to do it yourself, and to do it fully.
I’ am also an over thinker, I got that from my mother, who brought me up
to care about everyone and everything. Relating to the words of Yolande, when
she said we have to start caring about each other and other pacific islanders,
although it should, maybe relate to all people, as I was raised by white
people, I can relate to both sides, and not only pacific islanders.
Chong, Y. A. (Director) (2015, March 30). Who are you Pacific histories with
an eccentric view class panel. Lecture conducted in Auckland.
My Love
My loyalties lie, with the love for my parents,
I am so grateful for the way I was raised, like a pacific island family my
morals and expectations, of myself are high, although in respect I want to
succeed and to get my parents approval.
Just like Siliga Satonga, when he stated that
he was always trying to get, the approval of his parents, and maybe didn’t
realize how important that was at the time, also the words of Lana Lopesi when
she claimed she wanted her work to appeal to all people not only one race or
age.
My Morals
My parents have always been positive role
models for me, teaching me to always treat people the way I want to be treated.
Through this, I understand it as a pride familiar to the rules and respect,
that have been passed through the generations of pacific families, and that are
given and shown to elders and parents.
Just like a pacific pride, that is shown
through things like, Art , dance and carving, to be kind to other people, and
think of their feelings not only my own. I also consider this to be a part of
the work shown by the Niuean craft group and how Kolokesa Mahina-Tuai showed
respect to the women, in letting them show and present their work the way they
wanted too.
I have always been taught to always try my
hardest and follow my dreams, this is what I remember Kalisolaite Uhila saying
when he said that Filipe Tohu told him that art was no place for him if he has
a wife and child.
Not listening Uhila stuck to his passions,
and gained the Walters Prize award for his work.
Supportive and always there for me, I can
relate to the words of Bob Marley when he states “I don’t stand for the black
man’s side, or the white man’s side, I stand for gods side. Which has given me
the understanding of, I am not one race or the other, I don’t relate more to
one side more, than the other, and in fact I have a view into both worlds.
Uhila, K.
(Director) (2015, March 27)L.Lopesi Re-learning,Researching,Rewriting pacific
history. Guest speaker. Lecture
conducted in , Auckland.
This message is how I interpreted Jim
Vivieare’s bottled ocean works to say, when he gathered pacific island artists
from local sources and of all stages of their career, I gained the idea from
reading about that that exhibition, when he stated that, “the only reason we
are here is that we are Polynesian-not on our merits but because we’re the
“other”…So in other words I thought he meant that we are just great artist, and
why do we have to be classed as one race. In discovering this it made me think
that my nationality/ethnicity is what I choose it to be, and that is made up of
a little of everything, from where I live, lived where I was born, how I was
raised and how I was not raised, my ethnicity is my birth parents, my blood, my
genes and mostly my adoptive parents, because without them, I would not of been
able to carry any of this from the past in to the future.
Jim wanted you to see the works for what the
works were and that was Polynesian artist producing Polynesian works and
showing their abilities to be the artists that they already are.
What I have learnt from all of my research is
that I am unique just by my story and the stories I have to tell, my life is
what makes me the ethnicity I am. My ethnicity is made up of the past, present,
and future. Like the words of Lana Lopesi, in order to move forward we need to
re-create and reflect history in order to show who we are.
I am here to tell my father’s story and
without me this would not happen.
Word count 2067
Bibliography
May, Stephen, Tariq Modood, and Judith Squires. Ethnicity,
Nationalism and Minority Rights. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
2004. Print.
Novitz, David, and W. E Willmott. Culture and Identity in New
Zealand. [Place of publication not identified]: GP Books, 1989. Print.
Božić-Vrbančić, Senka. Tarara. Dunedin, N.Z.: Otago
University Press, 2008. Print. Page 45,200,231
Freeman, Derek. Margaret
Mead and Samoa. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983. Print.
Māhina-Tuai,
Kolokesa U. 'Living Treasures: Tongan Textile Koloa. Addo, Ping-Ann (2013)
Creating a Nation with Cloth: Women, Wealth, and Tradition in the Tongan
Diaspora. New York and Oxford:
Berghahn Books, 227
Pp, GBP95.00, Hbk, ISBN: 9780857458957.’ Asia Pac Viewp 55.3 (2014): 400-401.
Web.
Hall, Lester. N.p.,
2015. Web. 15 May 2015.
Funk, David T. 'Our
Islands, Our Selves: A History of Conservation in New Zealand David Young. Our
Islands, Our Selves: A History Of Conservation In New Zealand. University Of
Otago Press. Dunedin, New Zealand. 298 Cloth.. 2004. ISBN: 877276 S94 4.'. Natural
Areas Journal 28.2 (2008): 200-202. Web.
'Identity before
Identity Politics'. Choice Reviews Online 47.04 (2009): 47-2319-47-2319.
Web.
Proverbs, Maori.
N.p., 2015. Web. 18 May 2015. Whāia te
iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei Seek the treasure you value
most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain This
whakatauki is about aiming high or for what is truly valuable, but it's real
message is to be persistent and don't let obstacles stop you from reaching your
goal.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
I Love Hawaii
I don't know why but I love everything Hawaiian, their language, people, the myth Pele well even though she didn't come from Hawaii but just everything the aloha of the people there I'm just so in to everything Hawaiian. I have never been there I don't know anyone there But still feel like its calling me. Also love hula the story behind it and their passion for their Hawaiian culture.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Sponsor search
So guys!!!! I am trying my hardest to get to a Pacific Arts Festival in Amsterdam, I am looking for a sponsor IS THIS PERSON YOU ??, every dollar counts like literally every dollar!!!
PLEASE SUPPORT ME !!! I am trying my hardest to get to a Pacific Arts Festival in Amsterdam this August and I only have till july to get my airfare together, I am running out of time and fast!!??every dollar counts like literally every dollar!!!
PLEASE SUPPORT ME.
If you are looking for a Project to SPONSOR or know someone who would want to support a pacific arts project, why don't you check out my site @deborahthackermcdonald@weebly.com or my face book page at DeborahThackerMcDonald you are the person or the people I have been looking for, this is not just a chance for me to travel, but for me to give people in Amsterdam a chance to experience a little bit of kiwiana meets the Cook Islands, I will also be opening up the doors for other Pacific Island Artists to experience this kind of oppotunity as well, I would not let you down!!! I am the kind of person that works my hardest at everything I do, I would be glad to support your brand or business in the Netherlands. And I am just waiting for that one break where I can go and do what I was born to do, yes i am just a girl, but this girl is full of passion for the arts and is willing to put herself out there, and hunt it down like there is no tomorrow.
So please just check it out Please, even better Sponsor me, watch this space because you haven't heard the last of me yet. please don't just like my status and feel free to comment lol I am running out of time.
WHY SHOULD YOU SUPPORT...BECAUSE IM A :
Proud Kiwi you can help me - NZ
Proud Cook Islander You can help me Represent- kuki's
Proud Mum- Calling all - Mothers!!
lover because it rhymed with mother
Proud Artist- Any Artist can help you might just find yourself in my position too :)
Proud Pacific Islander - Support the Poly arts guys - any Pacific Island
Along time ago this was not art it was just pacific people living
Proud dream chaser - so basically calling all humans :)
http://deborahthackermcdonald.weebly.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011537734662
Debriezdesigns@gmail.com
http://deborahthackermcdonald.weebly.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011537734662
Debriezdesigns@gmail.com
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Searching for a Sponsor
So guys!!!! I am trying my hardest to get to a Pacific Arts Festival in Amsterdam, I am looking for a sponsor IS THIS PERSON YOU ??, every dollar counts like literally every dollar!!!
PLEASE SUPPORT ME !!! I am trying my hardest to get to a Pacific Arts Festival in Amsterdam this August and I only have till july to get my airfare together, I am running out of time and fast!!??every dollar counts like literally every dollar!!!
PLEASE SUPPORT ME.
If you are looking for a Project to SPONSOR or know someone who would want to support a pacific arts project, why don't you check out my site @deborahthackermcdonald@weebly.com or my face book page at DeborahThackerMcDonald you are the person or the people I have been looking for, this is not just a chance for me to travel, but for me to give people in Amsterdam a chance to experience a little bit of kiwiana meets the Cook Islands, I will also be opening up the doors for other Pacific Island Artists to experience this kind of oppotunity as well, I would not let you down!!! I am the kind of person that works my hardest at everything I do, I would be glad to support your brand or business in the Netherlands. And I am just waiting for that one break where I can go and do what I was born to do, yes i am just a girl, but this girl is full of passion for the arts and is willing to put herself out there, and hunt it down like there is no tomorrow.
So please just check it out Please, even better Sponsor me, watch this space because you haven't heard the last of me yet. please don't just like my status and feel free to comment lol I am running out of time.
WHY SHOULD YOU SUPPORT...BECAUSE IM A :
Proud Kiwi you can help me - NZ
Proud Cook Islander You can help me Represent- kuki's
Proud Mum- Calling all - Mothers!!
lover because it rhymed with mother
Proud Artist- Any Artist can help you might just find yourself in my position too :)
Proud Pacific Islander - Support the Poly arts guys - any Pacific Island
Along time ago this was not art it was just pacific people living
Proud dream chaser - so basically calling all humans :)
http://deborahthackermcdonald.weebly.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011537734662
Debriezdesigns@gmail.com
http://deborahthackermcdonald.weebly.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011537734662
Debriezdesigns@gmail.com
Friday, March 18, 2016
my work guys please check out my boosted page
https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/project-pacifica
This is just a clip of some of my work my boosted page has expired now
Sunday, March 13, 2016
K guys appealing to my wider audience please every dollar counts :)
Please come check out my campaign
<iframe style="width:100%; border:none; height:254px; background:transparent !important;" src="https://www.boosted.org.nz/share/widget.aspx?pid=31900&c=light"></iframe>
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Brought tears to my eyes
Watching a movie on a man from China who had to leave the country to make a better life for himself his wife has Alzheimer's and when he goes back to China he finds out if he had not left his life and the life of his family wouldn't of been as bad as it seemed at the time.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Lupus lupus lupus
Dear lupus you suck
You run my body down
Inhabiting all of the energy I once had
And making it your own
There are days when I could let you win
Although face with a grin
Some people don't believe your there
But I have learnt to bare
You won't win because lupus like you
I will never give in.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
The Great Explorers
Modern day pacific beauty
Captured in time diaspora island beauty claiming back what was taking away this aint no dusky maiden this is Pacific domination!!!!
And you just got colonised.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)