Books Judy Darragh: So-- You Made It? | ||
Judy darragh
Judy Darragh (born 1957) is a New Zealand artist who uses found objects to create sculptural assemblages. She has also worked in paint and film. Darragh is represented in a number of public collections in New Zealand. In 2004, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa held a major retrospective of her work titled Judy Darragh: So... You Made It?
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The making of limbo by judy darragh
Early life and education
Darragh was born and raised in Christchurch. Her mother worked in a clothing factory and her father was a freezing worker. Darragh has described being surrounded by "the joy of making" in her home environment, and from an early age she enjoyed drawing and making things from craft materials such as Fimo and pipe cleaners.
Darragh studied graphic design, graduating from Wellington Polytechnic with a Diploma in Visual Communication and Design in 1978. Deciding that she was not "cut out for the (graphic design) industry," Darragh moved to Auckland where she gained a Diploma in Teaching from Auckland Secondary School Teachers College in 1980. She has described how her teaching career has supported her art-making and provided her with a sense of freedom in her practice.
Shrine series
Darragh developed her signature kitsch aesthetic while living in Auckland in the 1980s, where she was working as secondary school teacher. She began making and selling domestic objects such as lamps and mirrors made from plastic plates at Cook Street Market and collecting bric-a-brac from markets, second hand shops and op shops. Her first assemblage works brought together these made and found objects into what she has described as "shrines". She was interested in exploring the distinctions between high and low culture and art and craft (particularly crafts that have been historically undertaken by women) and was influenced by Marcel Duchamp and his use of the readymade. Darragh first exhibited her art at Artspace, in Auckland's George Fraser Gallery.