The Unsettled: Small Stories of Colonisation

Rowan Panther makes lace that weaves together diverse European and Oceanic textile traditions. Panther is responding to the complexities of colonisation and to her mixed Irish, English, German and Samoan ancestry. She is part of the cultural recovery of a European handmade lacemaking tradition that was nearly destroyed by industrialisation. At the same time, she is a participant in the cultural celebration of Pacific craft practices that were irreparably altered by the processes of diaspora. Panther completed a diploma in photography from Unitec in 2002 and a bachelor of fine arts from Elam in 2008. She has exhibited in Aotearoa, Sydney, London, Paris and Munich. Her work is held in the collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Pātaka Art + Museum and the British Museum. In 2021 she was awarded the Blumhardt Foundation Dame Doreen’s Gift and in 2024 was selected to exhibit at Schmuck, a prestigious annual jewellery exhibition in Germany.