Dust to Dust 2010

Ane Tonga’s photographic series Dust to Dust merges multiple views of landscape into a single image to reveal new meanings that shape a sense of place and belonging in Maungarei (Mount Wellington). Residing in Maungarei for most of her life, the series is informed by her experiences and layered with research of historically recorded moments in the area.

Dust to Dust’s four images include an aerial view from Maungarei, overlooking uniform plots of housing within a new residential development; a rugby field that acts as an elevated stage for performance; and an aerial view of the newly developed netball stadium all of which recall ideas of nationalism, colonial settlement and the development over ‘uninhibited lands.’ Tonga comments,

“I’m interested in how historical narratives of landscape are remade in a contemporary context. Landscape had the ability to become symbols of power in colonial imagery and the development of housing mirrored a successful transfer of European lifestyle, which is embodied through architecture. This type of alluring imagery has continued to draw people to New Zealand. Additionally, national sports such as netball and rugby have then allowed migrant communities to partake and be part of a national identity.”

Exhibition History
Dust to Dust 2013 - 2015, Henderson Billboards Project.
Dust to Dust, 12 July - 16 September 2011, TSB Wallace Arts Centre.