I Saw – Te Hikoi Museum Exhibition

I saw - inspired by archival artifacts of Fiordland’s logging past

My ink drawing I Saw was created for the Te Hikoi Museum Art Challenge in 2024, which asked artists to reference an archival artifact. I chose a vintage logging saw because it embodies the long history of our forests and the people who worked them. The challenge felt like an invitation to explore how culture and landscape shape each other over time.

In the drawing the saw blade cuts into a log of native timber, but the image is more than a record of loss. As the teeth slice through the wood grain new growth seems to spill out of the saw. Young saplings and ferns emerge where you expect raw metal, suggesting that life continues even at the point of human intervention.

A lumberjack sits off to one side, pipe in hand and gaze thoughtful. His presence brings a human heartbeat to the scene and reminds us that these tools belonged to real lives and real labor. Below him a curious weka pecks among fallen leaves while a morepork watches from a high branch, linking the human story with the forest’s wild inhabitants.

Through those details I wanted to show that our histories are entwined with the natural world. The saw stands for industry and endurance. The emerging greenery stands for renewal and resilience. Together they tell a story of respect and responsibility.

I Saw is my reflection on the balance between use and care. It honours both the beauty of New Zealand’s native forest and the impact we have on it. By capturing the tension of that moment I hope viewers will consider how our choices today shape the landscape of tomorrow.