Leading Maori sculptor, Brett Graham (Ngati Koroki Kahukura), opens his Wellington exhibition ‘Searching for Tangaroa’ at Bartley & Company Art tomorrow night, October 6th. It’s his first show in the capital for a number of years – though many Wellingtonians will be familiar with his large public sculpture, Kaiwhakatere, which sits behind Parliament Buildings on Bowen Street. Graham has exhibited extensively – nationally and internationally – over the last decade and he is highly regarded as one of the most exciting and accomplished contemporary Maori sculptors. Although many of his works are not overtly Maori, they are the product of Graham’s interest in “a dual dialogue of Maori and European histories, adhering to the Modernist emphasis on form and material quality.” His concepts and titles though, invariably draw on his Maori heritage. The small illustration here (courtesy of bartley & company art) shows sculptural detail from work in his upcoming Wellington exhibition – a solo show that reflects Graham’s ongoing fascination with water as a cultural site. Searching for Tangaroa explores the convergence of ancient and contemporary beliefs and technologies. He employs high-tech underwater scanners in a mythical quest for the location of Hui te anga nui, the house of the god of the sea and the original site of the carving. As a metaphor for the human search for meaning, the scanners reference a range of issues from the foreshore and seabed act to values systems and religions. Graham has also collaborated with fellow Maori artist, Rachael Rakena, who I featured here a couple of weeks ago. Their collaborative works (Aniwaniwa and UFOB) have attracted significant international attention and have been shown at both the Venice and Sydney Biennales. www.brettgraham.co.nz www.bartleyandcompany.co.nz
Showing posts with label Bartley and Company Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bartley and Company Art. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Searching for Tangaroa
Leading Maori sculptor, Brett Graham (Ngati Koroki Kahukura), opens his Wellington exhibition ‘Searching for Tangaroa’ at Bartley & Company Art tomorrow night, October 6th. It’s his first show in the capital for a number of years – though many Wellingtonians will be familiar with his large public sculpture, Kaiwhakatere, which sits behind Parliament Buildings on Bowen Street. Graham has exhibited extensively – nationally and internationally – over the last decade and he is highly regarded as one of the most exciting and accomplished contemporary Maori sculptors. Although many of his works are not overtly Maori, they are the product of Graham’s interest in “a dual dialogue of Maori and European histories, adhering to the Modernist emphasis on form and material quality.” His concepts and titles though, invariably draw on his Maori heritage. The small illustration here (courtesy of bartley & company art) shows sculptural detail from work in his upcoming Wellington exhibition – a solo show that reflects Graham’s ongoing fascination with water as a cultural site. Searching for Tangaroa explores the convergence of ancient and contemporary beliefs and technologies. He employs high-tech underwater scanners in a mythical quest for the location of Hui te anga nui, the house of the god of the sea and the original site of the carving. As a metaphor for the human search for meaning, the scanners reference a range of issues from the foreshore and seabed act to values systems and religions. Graham has also collaborated with fellow Maori artist, Rachael Rakena, who I featured here a couple of weeks ago. Their collaborative works (Aniwaniwa and UFOB) have attracted significant international attention and have been shown at both the Venice and Sydney Biennales. www.brettgraham.co.nz www.bartleyandcompany.co.nz 
Friday, September 4, 2009
More International Acclaim for Maori Artist
Rachael Rakena, 2009. Image Courtesy Bartley & Company Art, WellingtonBack in 2005 I went along to Christchurch’s SOFA Gallery to see “Taonga Whanau,” a stunning show by Maori artist, Rachael Rakena (Ngai Tahu, Ngapuhi), a collaboration with Otene and Hana Rakena. I still have clear memories of the darkened gallery, the flickering, tantalising video images, the beautiful pounamu taonga (treasures), swinging above reflective surfaces. So I was delighted to learn a couple of days ago that Rakena’s newest video work, He Waiata Whaiaipo, recently exhibited at Wellington’s Bartley & Company Art, is set for international exposure. Rachael is one of the 25 musicians, artists and scholars selected by Wellington composer, Associate Professor Jack Body, to travel to China to take part in an international symposium on New Zealand and Pacific music at the beginning of November. Rachael’s work has been selected to be part of a video installation that Professor Body is curating. The image above – One Man is an Island – is a still from Rachael’s video work – “a love song in moving image employing the act of eating as a metaphor to play out ideas about desire, pursuit and fulfilment. In addition to working as an artist, Rachael is a lecturer at Toioho ki Apiti, School of Maori Studies at Massey University. To describe and locate her art practice, she has coined the term Toi Rerehiko, which plays on rorohiko, the Maori word for computer. Toi Rerehiko is a digital media art form immersed in Maori tikanga (custom) and values. In addition to exhibiting widely throughout New Zealand, Rachael’s work has received much acclaim internationally, particularly her collaborations for Sydney Biennale (2006), Venice Biennale (2007) and Busan Biennale (2008). www.rachaelrakena.com www.bartleyandcompanyart.co.nz
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