{"id":{"repo_id":"massey","oai_identifier":"oai:mro.massey.ac.nz:10179/17288"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/massey/oai:mro.massey.ac.nz:10179/17288","repository":{"repo_id":"massey","name":"Massey University","base_url":"https://mro.massey.ac.nz/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Weaving earth stories : practicing art sustainably and collaboratively with community and cow dung : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the postgraduate degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand","abstract":"This exegesis is a record of my MFA journey, in a new country, in a phase of my practice that had already matured to a degree where I was clear what direction and conscious choices I wanted to pursue as an artist and a human on this planet. Before migrating from India to New Zealand, I had determined that cow dung was a material in abundance with many redeeming properties. While this material is extremely significant to me and the culture I grew up in, it is strangely regarded as a waste or a nuisance in NZ. A paradox emerged: New Zealand’s problem with cow manure offers its own solution using traditional craft knowledge that I brought with me. The thesis project developed over the two years of study and evolved from a solo studio artist making sculptures to a socially engaged community-based artist collaborating, leading, and facilitating the material’s capacity in the New Zealand context. The research project consists of a collection of early works that were representational and figurative in nature and focussed on presenting a personal narrative. Throughout these experiences, I was adapting to New Zealand weather, culture, soil, customs, and climate in relation to cow dung; I was finding my feet. A collection of three works followed that each demonstrate the evolution of my creative practice in this space of working with communities, ecological concepts, and cow dung.","abstract_html":"This exegesis is a record of my MFA journey, in a new country, in a phase of my practice that had already matured to a degree where I was clear what direction and conscious choices I wanted to pursue as an artist and a human on this planet. Before migrating from India to New Zealand, I had determined that cow dung was a material in abundance with many redeeming properties. While this material is extremely significant to me and the culture I grew up in, it is strangely regarded as a waste or a nuisance in NZ. A paradox emerged: New Zealand’s problem with cow manure offers its own solution using traditional craft knowledge that I brought with me. The thesis project developed over the two years of study and evolved from a solo studio artist making sculptures to a socially engaged community-based artist collaborating, leading, and facilitating the material’s capacity in the New Zealand context. The research project consists of a collection of early works that were representational and figurative in nature and focussed on presenting a personal narrative. Throughout these experiences, I was adapting to New Zealand weather, culture, soil, customs, and climate in relation to cow dung; I was finding my feet. A collection of three works followed that each demonstrate the evolution of my creative practice in this space of working with communities, ecological concepts, and cow dung.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Tomar, Manju"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021","date_published":"2021","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:17:28Z","subjects":["community","creative practice","collaboration","sustainability","environment","socially engaged art practice","cow dung"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:10179/17288"],"render_values":[{"text":"hdl:10179/17288","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["community","creative practice","collaboration","sustainability","environment","socially engaged art practice","cow dung"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:10179/17288"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.other","label":"Dc Description Other","values":["This exegesis is a record of my MFA journey, in a new country, in a phase of my practice that had already matured to a degree where I was clear what direction and conscious choices I wanted to pursue as an artist and a human on this planet. Before migrating from India to New Zealand, I had determined that cow dung was a material in abundance with many redeeming properties. While this material is extremely significant to me and the culture I grew up in, it is strangely regarded as a waste or a nuisance in NZ. A paradox emerged: New Zealand’s problem with cow manure offers its own solution using traditional craft knowledge that I brought with me. The thesis project developed over the two years of study and evolved from a solo studio artist making sculptures to a socially engaged community-based artist collaborating, leading, and facilitating the material’s capacity in the New Zealand context. The research project consists of a collection of early works that were representational and figurative in nature and focussed on presenting a personal narrative. Throughout these experiences, I was adapting to New Zealand weather, culture, soil, customs, and climate in relation to cow dung; I was finding my feet. 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While this material is extremely significant to me and the culture I grew up in, it is strangely regarded as a waste or a nuisance in NZ. A paradox emerged: New Zealand’s problem with cow manure offers its own solution using traditional craft knowledge that I brought with me. The thesis project developed over the two years of study and evolved from a solo studio artist making sculptures to a socially engaged community-based artist collaborating, leading, and facilitating the material’s capacity in the New Zealand context. The research project consists of a collection of early works that were representational and figurative in nature and focussed on presenting a personal narrative. Throughout these experiences, I was adapting to New Zealand weather, culture, soil, customs, and climate in relation to cow dung; I was finding my feet. 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