Dagmar Dyck

Dagmar Dyck (b. 1972) is a painter and printmaker of Tongan German descent. Her early work strongly references the structure of traditional Tongan ngatu (tapa cloth) and includes objects from a range of Pacific cultures. Works such as Ngatu ae 64 (2001) include lalanga the measurement lines and numbers taken from traditional Tongan ngatu. In these works Dyck portrays details of ngatu designs and Polynesian artifacts suggesting that there is more of the tradition and culture to see beyond the image.

Her recent work features a wealth of Tongan traditions including weaving, baskets, kava bowls and items of adornment such as shell necklaces and wooden helu (combs). Her prints and paintings are characteristically graphic in style often including bands of rich primary colour, an influence of the German expressionists. Her dual Tongan German heritage is also evident in her use of the cross motif which is both an influence of the German modernist painter Mondrian and a recurring motif found in traditional Tongan ngatu.

By painting objects from various Pacific Islands within the same composition Dyck explores the theme of Polynesian navigation and highlights the history of exchange between Pacific Island nations. Dyck has also been inspired by the Pacific artifacts collected by European traders and settlers in the 18th and 19th Centuries. She has extensively researched Polynesian archeology books and the aesthetic of early European engravings and etchings is referenced in Dyck’s isolating of objects on a flat background and her fine detailing of form. Dyck extends on the concept of collecting in her grouping of disparate objects within the same image.
   
Unlike early European illustrations Dycks paintings of traditional artifacts are imbued with the culture with which they belong. Her work is an expression of her own identity and heritage as a Tongan German New Zealander. By painting Koloa (Tongan textile arts) the traditions of her Mothers homeland Dyck expresses a connection to her Polynesian ancestry and emphasizes the notion of community and the cultural significance of the objects she portrays.
Dyck completed her post graduate Diploma in Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, Elam School of Fine Arts in 1996. She exhibits regularly in New Zealand and Australia and has been represented by the Lane Gallery in Auckland since 1994. Some of her exhibitions at the gallery include Koloa (July 2001) and Elements of Style (October – November 2003).