An online exhibition celebrating Hamilton Pride 2025
Personal reflections on Museum taonga, selected and written by members of the Queer and Takataapui Staff Group.
Glass plate negative – Burrow 254
Unknown photographer
Glass plate negative
"Around 2013, before same-sex marriage was legalised and debates raged publicly, someone from my family neighbourhood asked my mother if I could help them use skype, on our computer, as she had an important national meeting to attend. I obliged, and we invited her into our house."
Pacific Madonna
Judy Darragh
Mixed media assemblage
"For many, the path to becoming a parent isn’t always easy, and as a queer woman this journey was more challenging and confronting than expected, highlighting how far our society has come but how much further we have still to go."
Black Haired Weeper with Tears of Gold
Andrea du Chatenier
Ceramic
"This Weeper reminds me of the beauty of discomfort. How do I identify? And who is my gender for? How much labelling and announcing of oneself is necessary when I will change my mind tomorrow?"
Mantel drape
Maker Unknown
Flax thread (?), silk ribbon
"My mother taught me crochet (several times) until I became proficient as an adult. At first, a vested interest in craft and general ennui lead me to crochet - but then it became an act of resistance and self-expression."
Felt Dolls
Various Artists
Felt, wool/silk/mohair/synthetic fibres, custom acrylic stage
"They delight and make me feel seen: the me that loves waahine, the me that loves dressups and the autumnal colours and wild heady textures of Papatūānuku. These babes wear skirts or dresses with their korowai but have manly names. They are slippery despite their fluffy exteriors."
Book - The Holy Bible & New Testaments
Published by Ward, Lock & Co
Paper
"Growing up in a religious household meant I held pretty negative views about homosexuality. I remember being in youth group on a Friday evening and being told to boycott Pump water bottles because they were a sponsor of the Hero Parade. Gay people were to be avoided, pitied. Even after leaving the church, it took me decades to untangle the internalised homophobia and rigid view of sexuality that I’d grown up with."
Untitled [reflection in mirror]
Ruth Davey
Paper, watercolour, ink
"The piece to me shows self reflection - as many young queer people did, I grew up struggling with self image. Why was I not the same as everyone else? I always stood out as the strange kid, feeling alienated for my strong sense of self and for something else that didn't have a name to it yet."