Hero image from KM23 campaign. Featuring model Ana Zuijderwijk and poet laureate Chris Tse. Concept & Photography: @creaturedesign and @amberjaynebain
A bold new campaign has just been released from Katherine Mansfield House & Garden to celebrate 100 years of Katherine Mansfield’s influence. Designer Janelle Rodrigues and photographer Amber-Jayne Bain worked with Cherie Jacobson from Katherine Mansfield House & Garden to come up with something entirely new.
“When I started working on this campaign I came to realise just how radical, and punk, and brave Katherine Mansfield was as a writer, a woman and an artist at large. We wanted to create a campaign that conveyed that bravery, that modernist grit and experimentation. When Poet Laureate Chris Tse said he’d be happy to join the photo shoot things got exciting: the images we created at Katherine Mansfield House & Garden are full of energy, lustre and love for art and life. This is what we want people to take notice of: that Mansfield was a force to be reckoned with, and still is! Her influence on artists now, both here and in Aotearoa, is so strong. Our hope for this campaign is that it busts apart any preconceptions of dusty English lessons at school and brings us right up close to the person Mansfield was, and why her work was so ground-breaking, then and now.” ⸺ Janelle Rodrigues, Creature Design
“We didn’t want to do something expected,” says Jacobson, “and what Janelle came up with is a bold campaign that really accentuates the energy Mansfield had for art and for life. Having Poet Laureate Chris Tse in the campaign is such a brilliant way to trace that line between Mansfield’s literary influence from that crucial Modernist era, right up to today where Chris is leading the way with innovative ways to bring poetry to people. Our other fantastic model, Ana, brings the youthful energy that drove Mansfield to explore the world and push the boundaries of her time both as a writer and a woman.”
Hero poster from KM23 campaign. Featuring poet laureate Chris Tse. Concept & Photography: @creaturedesign and @amberjaynebain
The campaign posters and social media assets are downloadable from km23.co.nz, the dedicated website for Centenary projects, articles and DIY ideas for celebrating Mansfield’s life and literary achievements.
The release of the campaign coincides with the build up to a day of activities to explore and celebrate Mansfield at Te Papa on Saturday 11 March. The day includes the opportunity to delve into portraiture by dressing up in Mansfield-inspired clothing and getting your photo taken; inspired by the iconic Anne Estelle Rice portrait currently exhibited at Te Papa.
Lizzie Bisley, Curator Modern Art, says: “This wonderful portrait is one of the best-loved paintings in Te Papa’s art collection. We are delighted to celebrate Mansfield’s life and work by putting it on display in Toi Art.”
Other activities include a panel conversation on ‘Ten Things you Didn’t Know About Mansfield’ with Mansfield scholar Gill Greer, Katherine Mansfield House & Garden Director Cherie Jacobson, Curator Modern Art Lizzie Bisley, and Claire Mabey of Verb Wellington; and a screening of the 2011 film Bliss by Fiona Samuel about the rebellious teenage Mansfield leaving New Zealand and forging her own path, with Mansfield played by Kate Elliot.
Full details available on KM23.co.nz
Katherine Mansfield Day at Te Papa full info and timetable
Katherine Mansfield Centenary 2023: 100 years of Katherine Mansfield’s creative legacy
Website: Km23.co.nz
For inquiries: hello@km23.co.nz
