Heritage Lost & Found
EXCITING NEW ART
Yemen Untold Stories
Botz
Acrylic on stretched canvas
June 2025 Newsletter
Tēnā koutou
Greetings to all art lovers! It’s great to be back in touch, share our latest news and chat about art! We enjoyed many visitors to the gallery during the first half of 2025. It was great to welcome folk from the USA, France, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Canada, South Korea, UK, Ireland, Australia, and of course from across the motu in Aotearoa New Zealand. Everyone was united in their love of the gallery and were so impressed with the quality of art and photography.
Our news is that we’ve moved to the ground floor at 181 Bridge Street, Nelson. So you don’t have to climb the stairs to browse our art. We have some fantastic new art on display by Botz, more details about the story behind her work in the section below. There is also some great photography from Erin Roughton and a select range of wonderful ceramics by Melanie Drewery, Fiona Bryant and Elena Renker.
Do come check out our new space. In winter, we’re open when our gallery flag is out, which is usually Thursday to Saturday in the winter months. Please check our website before visiting. If you would like a private viewing, please contact Sue, Ph: 027 548 5003 / info@proteanart.co.nz.
Ground floor space!
Check out beautiful new journal notebooks and great range of cards and photo blocks
The Story
Behind Botz
Art
Heritage Lost Then Found
It was in her early 50’s, Botz discovered through a DNA test that she had Middle Eastern and Celtic heritage. One of the common disconnects for many adopted people is they do not know the full story of their background and ethnicity. Botz grew up in England within an English family, and while she knew she was adopted, she could see by looking in the mirror that her skin was a different colour to her family and to most people around her. Indeed, many people commented on her skin colour in various ways throughout her childhood.
Despite being told her ethnicity was white and English, she had a sense there was a different story to be uncovered. In her forties, she connected with her birth family, and at age 53, she took a DNA test only to discover she was half Middle Eastern, with the other half a mix of Irish, Scottish and English. She experienced a range of emotions when she discovered the new cultures that are part of her DNA, and also part of her two children and grandchild’s DNA. Botz says, ‘Initially, I felt confused. I felt a different person, that something fundamental had shifted. I knew something I’d sensed deep down since I was a child. I was mixed race, a person of colour. And nobody could deny it anymore.’
Botz says she also felt excited, joyful and proud about her newly discovered mixed heritage. “I wanted to, and I felt compelled to find a way to celebrate this diverse mix of cultures that are now part of me.’
Toddler Botz
Untold Stories
Having always been a creative person, Botz decided to channel her feelings into art. All her artwork is inspired by her birth story and mixed heritage.
Her recent piece, Yemen Untold Stories explores Botz Yemeni heritage. Inspired by the the vibrant colours and patterns of Yemeni textiles, Botz says, ‘I enjoyed exploring and developing the use of triangular shapes which seem to be a recurring pattern throughout the textiles. Some of the shapes in the painting are beginning to disintegrate, I wanted to give a sense that identity is not fixed and ones sense of self can break down and re-emerge into something new and different.’
Earl Grey Hack is a work that explores the fusion and disconnect that happened when Botz found out she was mixed race. She explored cultural symbols, traditions and iconography that had interesting visual potential. For Earl Grey Hack, she chose Earl Grey tea as an interesting cultural tradition that is typically English, and something she drinks on regular basis. Then, for contrast, she painted a simplified Islamic art geometric design that dissected the Earl Grey image. Botz says, ‘The clash, contradiction and intersection of elements reflect what it felt like the moment I discovered I was mixed race.’
Botz says she has some really interesting conversations with visitors to the gallery about heritage, family connections and cultural identity.
If you would like to find out more about Botz art, pop into the gallery for a chat or contact Botz by phone or email.
You can also find a selected range of her work in the gallery and on our shop page Protean Art Shop This includes original works, prints, journal notebooks and cards. For ease of payment, we have introduced After Pay on our shop page for orders up to $2000.
Botz is the artist name for Protean Art gallery owner Sue Roughton
Earl Grey Hack
Acrylic in stretched canvas
Lost and Found
Mixed Media print
Yemen Untold Stories
Acrylic on stretched canvas
Art and Your Emotions
We know art affects our emotions - now they’ve found proof!
The power and positive influence of art
We always sensed that art can have a powerful effect on our emotions. Now they have proof! Professor Lauri Nummenmaa from the Finnish National Research Unit, and Riitta Hari, a neuroscientist and physician wrote in a research article titled ‘Bodily feelings and aesthetic experience of art’, that “positive feelings such as joy, liking and empathy are common among art observers, as well as a feeling of beauty and elegance.”
Their work at the Human Emotions Systems Laboratory concluded, ‘Emotional experiences evoked by art were consistent across observers. Aesthetic emotions (art, balance, beauty, and elegance) were most prominent, followed by positive emotions (liking, empathizing and joy) and empathy. Feelings linked with surprise and effort were moderately common.”
Negative emotions were rare despite numerous paintings containing unpleasant themes such as death and grief. Sadness was consistently associated with the experience of being touched and moved by the artworks, although these emotions were also consistently associated with joy.”
Let’s not underestimate the power and positive influence of art in our lives. How proximity to creativity can make you feel uplifted, inspired and have renewed faith in people and the world around you. So important in times like these.
So, if you need something to cast off the winter blues, and want to bring some joy into your life, come visit us at Protean Art. And whilst you’re at Protean, grab a copy of the Nelson Gallery Guide, courtesy of the Arts Council Nelson, and check out all the amazing art galleries we have in the Nelson CBD.
Middle Eastern Charm - Botz
Jervis Bay Sunrise - Erin Roughton
Kayakers - Erin Roughton
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank everyone who supports Protean Art. A big thank you to our wonderful customers, visitors, amazing artists, social media followers and brilliant team members who help at the gallery.
I would particularly like to acknowledge the ongoing support of Erin Roughton, Emily Ramsay, Louis Roughton, Helena Roughton and Jo Townsend.
Look forward to seeing you soon.
Warm wishes,
Sue Roughton
Meet the owners
We (Sue and Erin Roughton) are the owners of Protean Art Gallery. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.
Make sure you stick around for more updates, newsletters, and resources for art lovers!