Ayesha Green, Elizabeth the First

In this exhibition, Elizabeth the First, Green extends her research of Eurocentric systems of hierarchy and classification and of their continued dominance in knowledge creation and dispersion. Three imposing portraits of Queen Elizabeth I provide a foundation for the exhibition and are reproduced in Green’s signature flat painting style. Queen Elizabeth 1 represents the Golden Age, the original, and Elizabeth is also the name of Green’s grandmother — the 6^th person in her family to hold it. Queen Elizabeth 1 had no children, but addressed the nation as her children, and asserted herself as a mother of the people she ruled over. By choosing her as the focus, Green reflects on the power and importance of Empire and of Whakapapa — the model for everything else to adhere to, or to be measured against. These dominant paintings sit alongside copied taxonomy charts, small intimate watercolours of Green’s family, and two tables of clay nails. Through these combinations of references, Green tackles the challenging relationship between the Māori and Pakeha worldview.