• About me

Birgit Moffatt is a German practicing artist, who calls New Zealand/Aotearoa her new home since she moved from her birth town Berlin to the lower part of the North Island in 2011.

Coming to New Zealand was not only a change in culture, location and lifestyle but also the beginning of her creative adventure that eventually lead to an artistic career path.

In 2017 she received the Bachelor of Applied Arts majoring in textiles. Birgit is currently working out of her studio where she creates art for galleries and exhibitions and also frequently runs workshops.

Statement.

My work is strongly influenced by places that are important to me: my birth city East Berlin, where I grew up and my new home, New Zealand.

Living between cultures, the process of assimilation and understanding of my new environment involves an internal re-examination of home.

Materials are important to me; I am intrigued to explore the potential contrasts and tensions of hard/soft, heavy/light, urban/rural and flatness/dimensionality.

My work process involves experimental combinations of various elements to test how they might express ideas around belonging and cultural identity.

My rural surroundings reflect in my work through earthy colour palettes, rich textures and the use of natural components. As far as possible, I prefer to create my own materials in their purest form. I am a keen explorer of natural dyes, using plant parts and other natural elements to achieve sophisticated results that are often unexpected and serendipitous.

This extends to the hard materials: concrete speaks to me. While initially not drawn to concrete, once I began working with it I realised I had a connection with it, absorbed through my formative years; the omnipresent wall, the dominating Plattenbau (concrete slab construction) building style of East Berlin, the sense of strength and separation.

Artistic Curriculum Vitae

Education and Training

2016 – Certificate in Māori Art (Raranga/Weaving)
2016 – Bachelor of Applied Arts (Visual Arts and Design), Whitireia, New Zealand

Solo Exhibitions

An Intimate Connection, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, Levin, New Zealand. 2018

Topophilia – Love of Land, Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, New Zealand. 2016

Group Exhibitions

Rhythm & Flow, Paraparaumu Library, New Zealand. 2018
Finalist Wellington Regional Arts Review, Expressions Whirinaki, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. 2018
In – Visible Threads – works by Birgit Moffatt and Fiona Christeller, Pataka, Porirua, New Zealand 2017
6×100 – 6 Artists, 100 Days, Tutere Gallery + Creative Space, Waikanae, New Zealand. 2017
Initiative[s] 2017 – New Graduates Exhibition, Lake House Arts Centre, Auckland, New Zealand. 2017
Toast- Graduate Show, Pataka, Porirua, New Zealand. 2016
A Spring in my Step – members spring exhibition, Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington, New Zealand. 2016
Friends of Pataka – Porirua artist showcase, Pataka, Porirua, New Zealand. 2016
As the Crow Flies – by members of the World Shibori Network Australia & New Zealand, June Marriott Gallery, Alice Springs, Australia. 2016
Artist Review 2015 – Kapiti Horowhenua artist showcase, Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, New Zealand. 2015
Friends of Pataka – Porirua artist showcase, Pataka, Porirua, New Zealand. 2015
Poet meets Artist – Collaboration, Emerging Light Gallery, Plimmerton, New Zealand. 2015
Te Whanau Marama -The Family of Light – Works from Whitireia Art Students for Matariki, Emerging Light Gallery, Plimmerton, New Zealand. 2014
Synergy – Shibori Down Under – by members of the World Shibori Network Australia & New Zealand, Belconnen Arts Centre, Canberra, Australia. 2014
Finalist Molly Morpeth Canaday Sculpture Award, Library and Exhibition Centre, Whakatane, New Zealand. 2014
Finalist New Beat International Student Competition- Textile and Wearable Arts, exhibited in Hongkong, Hangzhou and Foshan, China. 2014
Cahoot – Showcase of works from Whitireia Art Students, Toi Pōneke, Wellington, New Zealand. 2014
Runner/MacBeth – Stage & Screen, Whitireia Theatre, Wellington, New Zealand. 2013
Second Life – Textiles@Whitireia + Aotearoa Fibre Group, Bowen House, Wellington, New Zealand. 2013
Wrapped in Shibori – by members of the World Shibori Network Australia & New Zealand, Barometer Gallery, Paddington, Sydney, Australia. 2013
THE VAT – Showcase of works from Whitireia Art Students, Wellington, New Zealand. 2013

Books and Publications

2017 – Wrigglesworth, J. (2017). How to grow a rainbow. Lifestyle Block, 31, 46-51.
2016 – Bakker, E. (ed.) Worldwide colours of Felt. Ellendesign. Utrecht, Netherlands.
2014 – Kinor J. & Xuelin L. (eds.) International Textile Design and Fashion Art. Hong Kong.

Guest Speaker

2016    Guest Speaker, Town and Country Quilters, Levin, New Zealand.
2016    Guest Speaker, Embroiderers Guild, Levin, New Zealand.