Erich Roebeck

Summary

Erich Robeck was born and raised in South Auckland (Māngere East) and lived there until 2021, currently residing in Mt Wellington. His ethnic background is mixed; he is Samoan and Norwegian through his dad, who left the family plantation in Aleisa for Aotearoa in the 1970s. He is also Māori (Ngāti Whātua/Te Uri Ahau) and Scottish through his mum (Glenda). She was raised in Ruawai, a small country town in Northland; a place their family created many special memories over the years.

A graduate in Visual Arts from AUT, Erich also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching in 2020. His work often explores the realm of identity and social persona, mainly through sculpture, installation and experimentation of materials.

Creative Process

Creative Workspace

My studio comes in the form of a kitchen table, coffee table and sitting room floor. I think there is a comfort that comes from creating at home, sure if money was not an issue, I would love to have a dream warehouse-convert studio space. My parents weren't able to come to any end of year shows or exhibitions, so love that making work at home meant that they got to see my process (and have their input, of course).

Final Work

Fale-ship Questionnaire

What prompted you to tuft keke saiga?

I wanted to create work that ties back to my parents, using materials and processes that help me feel connected to them. In my previous work, I had tufted a rug for the first time and so wanted to continue with that. Keke saiga was something that mum would often buy from the local vege shop or relatives would bring over from the islands.