Posts from the ‘Pacific Art + Artists’ category

#2girls1conference Art Auction: Leilani Kake

"Nga Hau E Wha - The Four Winds" Promotional Image by Leilani Kake with Vinesh Kumaran

Leilani Kake

Title: Promotional image for Ngā Hau E Whā – The Four Winds
Date: 2010
Medium: Digital Print on Archival Paper
Dimensions: 520x694mm [unframed]

Artist Statement

This is the promotional image created for Leilani Kake’s solo exhibition, Ngā Hau E Whā – The Four Winds at Fresh Gallery Otara, part of the 2011 Auckland Arts Festival. The original photograph was made by Vinesh Kumaran and digitally altered by Ema Tavola to create an image that suggested nudity, without creating controversy in Otara’s heavily faith-based community.

Notably, Ngā Hau E Whā – The Four Winds was the first exhibition at Fresh Gallery Otara to attract a review from The New Zealand Herald’s art critic, T.J McNamara, read it here. It was also Leilani’s first solo exhibition on home soil, the first exhibition that presented full frontal female nudity and Fresh Gallery Otara’s first involvement with a regional fine arts programme.

This image whilst crude in its digital mastery, is a historical record of an important exhibition that represented Fresh Gallery Otara’s relationship, accountability and respect for the Otara community and Pacific audience between 2006-2012.

Read more about Ngā Hau E Whā – The Four Winds here

Bio

Leilani Kake is a practising video installation artist and educator. Having exhibited broadly throughout New Zealand at venues including  Auckland Art Gallery, City Gallery Wellington and Fresh Gallery Otara, Leilani has also featured in exhibitions in Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, France, Taiwan and the United States. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Auckland is currently completing a Graduate Diploma of Secondary Teaching. She is also one half of #2girls1conference!

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Vinaka vakalevu Daniel Satele & Team @PantographPunch

on July 19, 2013

Thank you, vinaka vakalevu Daniel Satele and the team at
The Pantograph Punch

I really appreciate this interview that Samoan writer, Daniel Satele pursued with me. It’s the first time I’ve discussed my position and politics with another Pacific artist and writer working in Auckland, Aotearoa. His introductory words are really moving, and affirm to me why it’s so important to encourage Pacific artists and writers to make commentary, using their privileged position of Pacific insight, on other Pacific art makers and activity. Click here to read the full interview

This interview comes at a feverishly busy point in the #2girls1conference fundraising journey! Leilani Kake are two weeks away from leaving for Vancouver to present our papers at the Pacific Arts Association 11th International Symposium at the University of British Columbia. Click here to check out the massive programme of speakers and activities.

Next week is the #2girls1conference Art Auction where we’ll be auctioning off generously donated works from a pretty impressive range of contemporary artists! All welcome – the event kicks off at 6pm at Te Karanga Gallery, Level 1, 208 Karangahape Road in central Auckland!

Check out the #2girls1conference Art Auction online catalogue

8-string Rimu ukulele by Clinton Hewett
Pimp My Trishaw Series #1 – Homage to My Homegirls” (2013) by Nicole Lim
“Decolonise Your Tongue” by M. McHale & L. Tora
“Maori Minx” (2011) by Czarina Wilson
“Dark Horses” (2013) by Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden
“Mata nui” (2012) by Margaret Aull
“Palatavake Flag” (2013) by Benjamin Work
“Otara at Night” video stills (2011) by Rebecca Ann Hobbs
“Peter + William” (2012) by Tanu Gago
“Unsettled Earth Pylon City” (2006) by Ema Tavola
“Pataka 2.0” (2013) by Martin Langdon
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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Clinton Hewett

Clinton Hewett

Title: 8-string Tahitian Ukulele
Date: 2013
Medium: Rimu timber
Dimensions: Variable

Bio

Master carver, Clinton Hewett originates from Aitutaki, Cook Islands; he has over 18 years of experience in carving and researching the cultural arts and crafts of the Pacific. Through his Auckland-based company, Tribal Designz, Hewett produces contemporary carving, custom tattoo design, ukulele and 21st keys. In Aitutaki, Hewett’s work can be found at Tamanu Beach Resort, Pacific Resort and Aitutaki Lagoon Resort where he has spent time as carver in residence.

Hewett is currently studying at the Faculty of Creative Arts, Manukau Institute of Technology. He recently showed at Auckland’s Ferari Space, and is part of Pirianga Toto – a survey of contemporary Cook Islands artists curated by Leilani Kake for Fresh Gallery Otara opening in August 2013.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Molly Rangiwai McHale & Luisa Tora

Detail, Decolonise Your Tongue (2013)

Molly Rangiwai McHale & Luisa Tora

Title: Decolonise Your Tongue
Date: 2013
Medium: Mixed media collage
Dimensions: 305x355mm [framed]

Bio

Fijian native Luisa Tora is a second year Visual Arts major at the Faculty of Creative at Manukau Institute of Technology, Otara. She lives in Onehunga with her girlfriend, painter Molly Rangiwai McHale and six cats that don’t belong to them.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Czarina Wilson

Czarina Wilson and "Maori Minx" at Franklin Art Centre
Czarina Wilson and “Maori Minx” at Franklin Art Centre
"Maori Minx" (2009) by Czarina Wilson
“Maori Minx” (2009) by Czarina Wilson

Czarina Wilson

Title: Maori Minx
Year: 2011
Medium: Mink blanket, synthetic lining
Dimensions: Variable

Artwork Description

Maori Minx was designed for the Villa Maria Cult Couture fashion awards in 2011; it was a finalist in the ‘Recycled Revolution’ category. The five-piece ensemble is made out of re-purposed mink blankets in the popular koru design.

The outfit consists of a lined fishtail floor-length skirt with an exaggerated train, a fitted bodice, two kimono inspired detached sleeves and a hooded shrug with ties. It has proven to be quite versatile; in the original runway show, the skirt is worn as a strapless dress without the bodice. The hooded shrug itself is a stand-alone statement piece. Whether purchased for personal use or display, Maori Minx is certainly one of a kind!

Bio

Czarina Wilson has been a regular name on the Pacific competitive fashion circuit since the late 1990s. With awards and recognition for entries in the ‘Traditionally Inspired’, ‘Recycled Revolution’, ‘Streetwear’ and ‘Hero’ categories of both Westfield Style Pasifika and Villa Maria Cult Couture, Wilson has become known for her labour intensive handwork and innovative use of weaving and vinyl. She presented her first solo exhibition, entitled Plastic, at Fresh Gallery Otara in 2010 and has been involved in numerous exhibitions since then including Cult Couture Showcase curated by Doris de Pont for the 2012 Southside Arts Festival.

Wilson maintains a busy practice producing costumes, custom-made gowns, streetwear and accessories from her base in Glen Innes, East Auckland.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Margaret Aull

Margaret Aull

Margaret Aull

Title: Mata nui
Date: 2012
Series: Concealed Ancestors
Medium: Acrylic, Gold Leaf, Ochre and Paper on Board
Dimensions: 800x800mm [circular]

Artist Statement

My work is an investigation of the notion of Tapu / Tabu, a cultural construct embedded in most indigenous frameworks. For both Māori and Fijians, objects and personal items were often created as visual representations of ancestors and gods often imbued with mana and fear, a spiritual governing law / lore that could transform the mundane into veneration. Imagery and meaning could be transferred or transported through its reproduced format.

I am interested in the type of reverence applied to such objects, and the relationships that existed with their owners and communities during their “life” time. In Museum collections, the value and context of the objects have shifted and changed over time. Its ‘life force’ subdued and dormant as if defunct from the life and intent it emerged from.

The images I have referenced and adopted, as visual representations, aim to reclaim and re-activate meaning as personal cultural signifiers. Traditional ochre/oil for masi (Fijian bark cloth) is a way of locating my identity, bringing forth whenua / vanua (land) within my work. The traditional nature of the pigment challenges the way I work; its natural form resisting synthetic composites destabilizing surfaces… a response perhaps to my blurred genetic code as Māori, Fijian and other.

Concealed Ancestors becomes a way to test boundaries and explore tensions between what is culturally prohibited and what is respectable. These ancestors are concealed within museums, within display cabinets, representatives of a people or a provenance. I am interested in the value of such objects, the cultural negotiations / obligations of collectors and the space between the physical and spiritual.

Bio

Margaret Aull (Te Rarawa, Tūwharetoa, Fiji) completed undergraduate studies at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Waikato Institute of Technology where she completed a Bachelor of Media Arts winning the Waikato Museum ArtsPost Award for excellence in Academic Record in 2006.

Aull has exhibited extensively in New Zealand since 2005 with a solo exhibition entitled Na Kena Yali (Loss) at the Chartwell Gallery, Hamilton in 2008 and Concealed Ancestors at Papakura Art Gallery, Auckland in 2013. She is currently studying to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree at Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design and is employed as the Art Collection Curator for Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Te Awamutu.

Aull’s work reflects the tensions of culture and identity between her Fijian and Māori ancestry. Her work is the ongoing effort to  find equilibrium between the two cultural powerhouses by investigating the relationships of whakapapa, faith and politics. She is a noted painter but currently expanding her practice into sculpture and installation. Aull has works in private and public collections including Auckland Council, The Barry Hopkins Art Collection, Fiji Museum, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Open Wānanga Collections, Waikato Institute of Technology and Waikato Museum of Art and History.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Tanu Gago

Peter + William (2012) by Tanu Gago

Tanu Gago

Title: Peter + William
Date: 2012
Edition: Artist Proof
Series: Avanoa O Tama
Medium: Photographic Print on Archival Crystal Matte
Dimensions: 841x594mm

Artist Statement

As a Pacific Gay Male I have struggled over time to identify a clear distinction of Pacific masculinity I feel comfortable relating to. Searching for a cohesive sense of self and a recognizable sense of presence within the world we occupy, has lead me to this point in my artistic journey.

The Avanoa O Tama series presents a visual narrative that observes, critiques and articulates Pacific male identity in all its forms and with all its complexity, looking at the performance of our own unique perception of what it means to be a Pacific Male in the 21st century.

Bio

Born in Samoa and raised in Manukau City, Tanu Gago belongs to a large family with a diverse cultural background. Gago draws on his unique perspective and life in South Auckland to make art that directly engages with urban social issues including the fluid nature of ethnic and gender identities. Gago held his first solo exhibition, YOU LOVE MY FRESH at Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts in 2010 and later developed his first photographic series, Jerry the Fa’afafine (In The Manner of a Samoan Man) for Mana Takatāpui: Taera Tāne curated by Reuben Friend for City Gallery Wellington in 2011. His follow-up series, Avanoa O Tama was developed for a solo exhibition at Fresh Gallery Otara in South Auckland and went on to be shown as part of Home AKL at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in 2012. Gago’s work features in private and public collections including Auckland Council, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and University of Auckland. He holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts majoring in Directing for Film & Television from Unitec.

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#SouthAuckland Arts Leaders’ Auction Art To Further International Dialogue

Media Release
8 July 2013

South Auckland Arts Leaders’ Auction Art To Further International Dialogue

An art auction in K Road’s Te Karanga Gallery this month presents a unique opportunity to purchase works by twelve of New Zealand’s most exciting contemporary artists, all with a strong South Auckland connection.

The auction is taking place in aid of the #2girls1conference campaign being led by leading South Auckland artists and educators Leilani Kake and Ema Tavola to support their travel to the Pacific Arts Association 11th International Symposium in Vancouver, Canada next month.

Kake and Tavola are returning to North America with their ‘Real Talk’ arts agenda after a successful lecture tour to a series of California and Hawaii academic and arts institutions in 2009.

Since then, Kake has exhibited her works in galleries including City Gallery Wellington and Henderson’s Corban Estate Art Centre and has been a featured artist in the 2011 Auckland Arts Festival. Tavola has guided the highly regarded Fresh Gallery Otara, which she established for Manukau City Council in 2006, to its sixth anniversary and 70th exhibition and was an associate curator of Auckland Art Gallery’s first major exhibition of contemporary Pacific art, 2012’s HOME AKL.

Artists whose works feature in the auction include Tanu Gago, Rebecca Ann Hobbs, Martin Langdon, Molly Rangiwai McHale, Luisa Tora and Czarina Wilson. Their work, all with a significant link to the dynamic South Auckland contemporary arts scene, can be found in public and private collections both nationally and internationally.

“Otara at Night” (2011) by Rebecca Ann Hobbs
“Maori Minx” (2009) by Czarina Wilson
“Unsettled Earth Pylon City” (2006) by Ema Tavola
“Peter + William” (2012) by Tanu Gago

With reserve on each lot set at $200 and works ranging from framed video stills, unframed photographic prints, painting, lithograph and digital prints to Czarina Wilson’s impressive one-off garment, “Maori Minx” made entirely out of a repurposed mink blanket and shown at the 2011 Cult Couture Fashion Awards, there will be some very exciting purchases to be made on the night.

Ten limited edition ‘Real Talk’ art prints by Tepora Malo will also be auctioned.

The #2girls1conference art auction is supported by K FM, Te Karanga Gallery.

Auction details:

When: Thursday 25 July, 6 – 8pm
Where: Te Karanga Gallery, 208 Karangahape Road, Central Auckland

Works for auction include:

More information:

#GROUNDED Festival of Sustainable Arts, #Otara

on July 2, 2013

Leilani Kake and I had a stall at the GROUNDED Festival of Sustainable Arts pop-up market last weekend, hosted by Manukau Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Creative Arts in Otara, South Auckland.

The #2girls1conference fundraising campaign t-shirt is designed by senior student, Tepora Malo, currently studying to complete a Bachelor of Creative Arts. Tepora undertook an internship with Leilani and I on the #2girls1conference campaign, overseeing the process of crowdfunding, social media marketing and leading the design and hand-printing of the limited edition t-shirt.

Tepora’s design employed a complex printing process that presented a fairly massive learning curve for all involved! The outcome is gorgeous and represents multiple hours of trial and error, laughs, sweat and tears!

We produced a limited range of 70 t-shirts and 20 canvas tote bags – both are selling fast; sales enquiries can be directed to Ema using the Contact page here.

The PIMPI fans are seasonally misguided, but on sale for NZ$60.

Images courtesy of MIT Faculty of Creative Arts.

#2girls1conference Limited Edition Art T-shirts, proudly made in #SouthAuckland!

Leilani Kake and my fundraising efforts to get to the Pacific Arts Association International Symposium in August are gaining real momentum!

A 25-day campaign on the New Zealand crowdfunding website, PledgeMe was an enormous success – we were overwhelmed with the support from our communities and networks on and offline. This initial fundraising effort attracted over $4000 of support which covers the bulk of our return airfares to Canada! A HUGE Thank You to everyone who pledged, shared, liked and retweeted to support our cause.

Part of our fundraising effort has been the design and production of a limited edition art t-shirt which we were able to hand-print using the excellent facilities at Manukau Institute of Technology. Tepora Malo, a third year student studying at the Faculty of Creative Arts worked as our intern on the project – we all learned a lot about the four color printing process and talked for long hours about art making and money making. Otara artist, activist and recent graduate, Amiria Puia-Taylor was our first choice to model the t-shirt for us. Her position on community awareness and artistic empowerment is particularly refreshing and she definitely represents the concept of REAL TALK! We also benefited from the very promising expertise of first year student, Sean Atavenitia who created our promotional photography. The whole initiative has been a really rewarding, Made in South Auckland experience!

The limited edition #2girls1conference art t-shirt is on sale now for $50!

We also have a limited amount of canvas shoulder bags for $30 and $15 repurposed jumbo tote bags from the slightly imperfect printed t-shirts!

Come find us at the GROUNDED Festival of Sustainable Arts Pop-Up Market from 10am – 5pm on Saturday 29 June, 50 Lovegrove Crescent, Otara, South Auckland, or click here to submit a sales enquiry.