Owen Mapp
Owen Mapp
Owen Mapp grew up near Blenhiem, on a sheep farm, with a deep appreciation of the nature and mountain wilderness of the South Island. At the age of 14, Mapp got involved with the Canterbury Museum excavations at the Wairau Bar moa hunter site where he developed an understanding of archaeology and Maori culture. This continued in holiday jobs at both Canterbury and National Museums until he left New Zealand at 18 years of age.
Over the following years, Mapp travelled through many countries, spending over 10 years out of New Zealand. During this time, he occasionally worked in various museums including Sweden’s National Museum, the British Museum and the Masada site in Israel. Some of what he considers his 'educational' travel experiences include: travelling across the Sahara, experiencing various war zones, 'boating' down the length of the Amazon River, hitchhiking from Europe across Asia to New Zealand, hitching a military plane ride to Vietnam during the war, island ‘hopping’ through Indonesia to Timor and Darwin, working in the Australian Northern deserts, getting shot at in Afghanistan, and working in the slums of Delhi.
In 1968, Mapp started bone carving and reintroduced hand gravers for this style of carving. Since then, Mapp has exhibited globally, primarily in Japan, USA and Europe. Each year he shows netsuke carvings with the Japan Netsuke Carvers Association in Tokyo and Yokohama. The Japanese royal family own Mapp’s netsuke as do other royal families. Recently he was invited to tutor jade carving in the Czech Republic National Museum. Te Papa Tongarewa: The National Museum of New Zealand commissioned a whale bone sculpture for their Whale : Tohora exhibition and collection and the NewDowse and the Auckland Museum also hold pieces .
“I am attracted by ancient artefacts and attempt to translate their influences into contemporary concepts of lasting quality by creating a timeless object to be enjoyed now or in a thousand years time.”
In 1968, Mapp started bone carving and reintroduced hand gravers for this style of carving. Since then, Mapp has exhibited globally, primarily in Japan, USA and Europe. Each year he shows netsuke carvings with the Japan Netsuke Carvers Association in Tokyo and Yokohama. The Japanese royal family own Mapp’s netsuke as do other royal families. Recently he was invited to tutor jade carving in the Czech Republic National Museum. Te Papa Tongarewa: The National Museum of New Zealand commissioned a whale bone sculpture for their Whale : Tohora exhibition and collection and the NewDowse and the Auckland Museum also hold pieces .
“I am attracted by ancient artefacts and attempt to translate their influences into contemporary concepts of lasting quality by creating a timeless object to be enjoyed now or in a thousand years time.”
