Rosie Symes
Bio
Rosie Symes is an Aotearoa based artist residing in the coastal community of Māhia, Northern Hawkes Bay. Rosie studied art for 5 years, eventually specialising into illustration. She has spent a life time travelling the world gathering inspiration from her experiences and adventures. She works with a variety of mediums on works inspired by nature, dreams and emotions with a surrealist twist, finding her muse in divine feminine energy. She creates pieces with the aim of empowering women to be their authentic selves and speak their truth.
Description
Waipuna-ā-rangi - This painting speaks to the power and presence of water, a force that can both sustain and devastate. The wahine stands strong amid cascading streams, embodying resilience and guardianship through times of upheaval. Her hei matau connects her to the moana, to navigation, and to survival. In the context of Cyclone Gabrielle and the floods that reshaped Hawke’s Bay, the work becomes a reflection on how waterways bind us to our whenua, and to one another even in moments of loss and change
Mana wahine:
Her determined gaze holds space for grief, resilience, and guardianship, embodying the strength of whānau and hapū during the crisis.space for grief, resilience, and guardianship, embodying the strength of whānau and hapū during the crisis.
Social - @rosie_symes_art
Contact - Rosie_cruddas@outlook.com
Link to research
Waipuna-ā-rangi - one of the Atua wahine, representing the waters that fall from the sky! Relating directly to the idea exploring the emotional, physical and systemic weights of water (eg. flooding, isolation, grief, climate disruption) She gives off a vibe to help you to remember that water isn’t just about destruction, floods, and erosion but can nourish, connect and give us life. This painting speaks to the power and presence of water, a force that can both sustain and devastate. The wahine stands strong amid cascading streams, embodying resilience and guardianship through times of upheaval. Her hei matau connects her to the moana, to navigation, and to survival. In the context of Cyclone Gabrielle and the floods that reshaped Hawke’s Bay, the work becomes a reflection on how waterways bind us to our whenua, and to one another even in moments of loss and change.
This painting speaks to the power and presence of water, a force that can both sustain and devastate. The wahine stands strong amid cascading streams, embodying resilience and guardianship through times of upheaval. Her hei matau connects her to the moana, to navigation, and to survival. In the context of Cyclone Gabrielle and the floods that reshaped Hawke’s Bay, the work becomes a reflection on how waterways bind us to our whenua, and to one another even in moments of loss and change
Painting no.2 - speaks to strength wahine showed stepping up for their communities, caring for the young people, organising kai, checking in kaumātua, carrying burdens that have carried on well after the cyclone had passed. Something that honours the quiet power and fierce aroha of wahine Māori.Mana wahine: Her determined gaze holds
Mana wahine:
Her determined gaze holds space for grief, resilience, and guardianship, embodying the strength of whānau and hapū during the crisis.space for grief, resilience, and guardianship, embodying the strength of whānau and hapū during the crisis.
