Judith Ann Darragh ONZM (born 1957) is a New Zealand artist who uses found objects to create sculptural assemblages. She has also worked in paint [1] and film. [2] 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? [3]
Darragh was born and raised in Christchurch. Her mother worked in a clothing factory and her father was a freezing worker. Darragh described being surrounded by "the joy of making" in her home environment, [4] and from an early age she enjoyed drawing and making things from craft materials such as Fimo and pipe cleaners. [5]
Darragh studied graphic design, graduating from Wellington Polytechnic with a Diploma in Visual Communication and Design in 1978. [6] Deciding that she was not "cut out for the (graphic design) industry," [5] Darragh moved to Auckland where she gained a Diploma in Teaching from Auckland Secondary School Teachers College in 1980. [7] She has described how her teaching career has supported her art-making and provided her with a sense of freedom in her practice. [5]
In 1992, Darragh was one of eight artists who founded the artist-run space Teststrip in Auckland and this would run until 1997 wherein the space was closed. [8] Darragh then went on to start Cuckoo, an artist-run project based in Auckland that was described as 'the artist-run space without a space' [9] with four other artists in 2000.
In 2013, Darragh exhibited 'Doctor, 2013' at Gus Fisher Gallery in the show 'A Different view: artists address pornography.' [10] The exhibition examined the impact of the pornography industry on New Zealand society and sought to open up a conversation about the 'silent business'. [11] The artwork which she exhibited in this show (Doctor, 2013) was taken from a Hustler centrefold, then enlarged and printed onto a PVC skin which was a reference to the advertising industry. [11] Previous work has also included assemblages with dildos (Mussell Mirror [12] and Flicker of Life, 1987), as well as direct painting onto pornographic images using white-out. [13]
In the 1980s, under the alias Blossom, Darragh's comic strips were published in the New Zealand underground comic book series Strips. [14] Her comic strips have also been published in Three Words: An anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics. [15]
Darragh developed her signature kitsch aesthetic while living in Auckland in the 1980s, where she was working as secondary school teacher. [5] She began making and selling domestic objects such as lamps and mirrors made from plastic plates at Cook Street Market [4] and collecting bric-a-brac from markets, second hand shops and op shops. [5] [16] Her first assemblage works brought together these made and found objects into what she has described as "shrines". [5] 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) [5] and was influenced by Marcel Duchamp and his use of the readymade. [4] [16] [17] Darragh first exhibited her art at Artspace, in Auckland's George Fraser Gallery. [4]
In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Darragh was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the arts. [18]
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Denise Kum is a New Zealand artist. Her works are held in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the University of Auckland art collection.
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