Tanya Ashken was born in London in 1939. She began silversmithing at the age of 13, before studying sculpture in London and Paris. In 1963, Ashken moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington with her husband, the New Zealand artist John Drawbridge.

Five pendants showcase her skill as a jewellery maker and silversmith. These are displayed alongside Kotuku – a carved kauri sculpture which Ashken made shortly after arriving in Aotearoa, and which responds to the shapes and movements of a kōtuku (white heron). A scale model of Ashken’s sculpture Albatross is also on display. Albatross is a public sculpture that sits by Whairepo Lagoon on Wellington’s waterfront. The work’s three abstracted forms are inspired by the southern seabird.

Ashken wrote, in 2016: ‘I feel strongly involved with the natural rhythms and forces of the earth, with the tensions of stones and the tensions of seabirds, the power of natural light and the course of the earth’s movement.’

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Tanya Ashken, Pendant and chain, 1963, sterling silver, mother of pearl. Te Papa (2016-0013-1)