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Cat Auburn

PhD Researcher, Northumbria University

I am an artist who explores historical narratives through the creation of sculptures, films and public events. I engage international audiences with my research through exhibitions in galleries and online media. My doctoral project investigates Australian and New Zealand Anzac mythology from WWI and how it continues to influence narratives of national identity, both in New Zealand and internationally. This project turns away from the well-trodden legend of the Anzacs on the battlefields of Gallipoli. Instead, I focus on the legacy of the lesser-known New Zealand Mounted Riflemen and Australian Light Horsemen’s engagement in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign - a campaign within the greater ‘Middle Eastern theatre’ of WWI. The project takes its title, ‘I leave everything to you’, from the final line in a farewell letter from a New Zealand soldier to his mother. The outcomes of this project will be an experimental film and a written publication.

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Cat Auburn (2012). 'Training Aids'. leather, expanding foam. © The Dowse Art Museum.

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Cat Auburn, (2015). ‘The Horses Stayed Behind (oud)’. horse hair, resin, NZ timber. © Cat Auburn.

Cat Auburn, (2015). ‘The Horses Stayed Behind (detail)’. horse hair, copper, linen. © Cat Auburn.

Cat Auburn (2016), 'Condition Report 1967', installation image (gallery). © Cat Auburn.

Cat Auburn & Estella Castle (2016). 'Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay'. film still. © Cat Auburn and Estella Castle.

Cat Auburn (2016 – ongoing). 'Preparing the Ground'. installation image. © Colin Davison

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Thesis title:

'I leave everything to you’: A practice-based exploration of the inheritances the Anzac First World War legend and its influence on identity and nationhood

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Projected Award Date: 30/03/2023

Principal Supervisor: Professor Christine Borland

Second Supervisor: Professor Katherine Baxter

Advisor: Professor Donna Chambers

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