It’s hard to know how you’ll process your emotions after a funeral. For Uncle Gagi, Claudia Kogachi has crafted a series of woven rugs emulating the wardrobe her grandfather (Jiichan) left behind. Jiichan was one to preserve comfort and practicality in the way he dressed. Handmade Aloha shirts, faded board shorts, scruffy slippers and golf caps are just some of the countless belongings that Claudia can’t seem to seperate from the image of her grandfather. Clothing and how we dress is a reflection of what we believe and our perceptions of ourselves. Clothing can become memory vessels, objects which are so heavily associated with a person or a time and place that we cannot divorce the person from the object. Crafting these tapestry works has helped Claudia reconnect with her Jiichan, pay homage to his clothing and remind herself of her home away from home.


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Claudia Kogachi is a Tāmaki Makaurau based artist whose work renders domestic scenes, adolescence and inter-generational cultural learning through various mediums. A common moral to each exploration resumes with the strong notion of family. Since graduating from Elam in 2017 with a BFA(Hons), Claudia’s grandparents have been a vigorous source of inspiration for her practise. Even after her grandfather’s passing she still finds peace and entertainment in depicting them through her work. Recent projects include: Everyone Has A Horse Phase, Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland, 2020; Beijing International Art Biennale, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, 2019; Auckland Art Fair (w/ Sanderson Contemporary), The Cloud, 2019; You're not a Princess you know, Window Gallery, Auckland, 2018; Mom, are we friends, Meanwhile Gallery, Wellington, 2018.

Photography by Hendrix Hennessy-Ropiha
Design by Riley Karl