Mary-Louise Browne

Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1957

Seeing is Believing

  • 2020
  • Leadlight doors
  • Purchased 2023
  • 1985 x 613 x 42mm
  • 2023/078.a-b

Text is an important feature in Mary-Louise Browne’s art. She explores the visual and symbolic power of language, using familiar phrases from popular culture to reveal how words have different interpretations depending on their context. The saying ‘seeing is believing’ takes on new meaning in an art gallery, where we are surrounded by things that have been constructed by artists for us to look at. By using leadlight windows in a wooden door, Browne suggests permanence, but the words themselves suggest something less solid and reliable – inviting us to question whether all is as it seems.

Exhibition History