Th E T O M O R R Ow P E O P L E 22.7 .1 7–1 .1 0 .1 7
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Wendelien Bakker, Diva Blair, Jesse Bowling, Teghan Burt, Quishile Charan, Sam Clague, Hikalu Clarke, Claudia Dunes & Rainer Weston, Fresh and Fruity, William Linscott, Isabella Loudon, Theo Macdonald, Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall, Ammon Ngakuru, Christina Pataialii, Maddy Plimmer, Deborah Rundle, Christopher 22.7.17–1.10.17 Ulutupu, Tim Wagg, Daegan Wells, Aliyah Winter, Xun Cao, Yllwbro Curated by Christina Barton, Stephen Cleland & Simon Gennard THE TOMORROW PEOPLE The Tomorrow People List of works Artists, just like everyone—and everything—else, are Vic Books Window, Kelburn Parade themselves materials that flow through a system in which they are captured, which raises the question of what Diva Blair might be mobilised for the construction of new eddies Emotion Incarnate, 2016 and countercurrents. digital video, sound, 2mins 8secs —Sam Lewitt, 2012 courtesy of the artist The Tomorrow People is an exercise in future-oriented Level 3 thinking. The exhibition brings together a selection of works by twenty-five artists who offer urgent, resourceful, Hikalu Clarke and playful possibilities for navigating their times. All Our Anthems, 2017 The title is borrowed from a 1970s’ television series audio, 6mins about a group of adolescents endowed with special courtesy of the artist powers to combat the dark forces of their day. Armed with the capacity to read minds, teleport between locations, Fresh and Fruity and use their mental powers to move things, they were Manifesto vol 1: Fresh and Fruity is a sexy new look, tasked with overcoming evil for the good of humanity. 2014/2017 Remade and updated twice in subsequent decades, printed poster, vinyl text ‘The Tomorrow People’ is invoked here less as a rubric courtesy of the artists for re-investing in a cult of youth than as a device for thinking through how a new generation of artists are Tim Wagg dealing with the fractured, often-overwhelming world they 1991, 2016 have inherited. If the TV show used the technologies and digital video, sound, 12mins special effects available to its makers, then this exhibition produced with support from ARTSPACE, Auckland canvasses the material and technological tools that are and The Chartwell Trust our everyday reality. And if we can speak of ‘special courtesy of the artist powers’, then we are interested in the fact that these artists are mostly digital natives, that they proudly embody Wendelien Bakker a diverse set of cultural and gendered perspectives, and Moon Deed in Concrete, 2016 that they are resourcefully rethinking how to survive in concrete, paper economically precarious times. courtesy of the artist The exhibition populates the spaces of the Adam Art Gallery with clusters of works that variously respond Swimming Pool, 2015 to, comment upon, or inadvertently reflect a nexus of text printed on paper, framed contemporary concerns: from the effects of neoliberal courtesy of the artist policy and financialised capital, to the technological tools and systems of control that condition our lives; to Deborah Rundle colonial and historical inheritances that have entrenched What Faith I Have, 2012/2017 differentials of power and privilege, to the cultural vinyl text frameworks and visual and linguistic regimes within which courtesy of the artist subjectivities have taken shape. Seamlessly slipping between digital and material realms, shuffling found Diva Blair and appropriated objects and images, resuscitating Should I Tell You What It Is Like, 2016 suppressed and overlooked histories, working together stop-motion video, sound, 2mins 55secs outside the conventional structures of display, these courtesy of the artist artists ask us to not only dwell on what it means to be alive right now, but they invite us to imagine ways to rewire Teghan Burt the system and live creatively, caringly, and sustainably Substitute for Mortals, 2016 within it. fabric, clothes private collection, Auckland Christina Barton, Stephen Cleland, Simon Gennard Xun Cao Every new beginning comes from some other Six photographs from Dick Head series, 2016–2017 beginning’s end, 2017 inkjet on paper digital print and boot polish on canvas courtesy of the artist Paintings on wall from left to right: Three photographs from Passion of Cut Sleeves series, 2016 What is meant to be will always find its way, 2017 inkjet on paper digital print and boot polish on canvas courtesy of the artist Just believe, 2017 Theo Macdonald digital print and boot polish on canvas I Assume David Bowie Has Different Coloured Eyes, 2016 Aliyah Winter digital video, silent, 9mins 24secs Danny Boy, 2015 courtesy of the artist VHS transferred to digital video, sound, 3mins 8secs courtesy of the artist I Assume David Bowie Runs in the Morning, 2016 digital video, sound, 41mins 21secs Eli Jenkins’ Prayer, 2015 courtesy of the artist VHS transferred to digital video, sound, 2mins, 16secs courtesy of the artist I Assume David Bowie Eats Spaghetti Every Single Meal, 2016 Maddy Plimmer digital video, sound, 4mins 5secs Box, Box, Box, 2017 courtesy of the artist embroidered overalls courtesy of the artist Isabella Loudon please water the sculptures, with care, 2017 Jesse Bowling concrete, sand, glass Apple of My Eye, 2017 courtesy of the artist digital video, silent, 1min 55secs courtesy of the artist Level 2 Sam Clague Hikalu Clarke From left to right: Choke Point, 2017 steel railing Bad, Really Sad, A Great Success, Terrific, 2017 courtesy of the artist cord, balloon, bog, nails, plaster, silicone, spray paint, tubing, and wire on calico Ammon Ngakuru courtesy of the artist A Shelter for Amnesic Relatives, 2017 installation with shelving and five paintings Hard Pop, 2016 courtesy of the artist oil and digitally manipulated photographic insert on board Paintings from left to right on shelf: courtesy of the artist It’s choice not chance that determines our destiny, Feature Wall (Whole Lotta Love in This House), 2016 2017 oil on board digital print and boot polish on canvas courtesy of the artist The fear of suffering is far worse than the suffering Sundae Painter, 2016 itself, 2017 oil and Duraseal on ply digital print and boot polish on canvas courtesy of the artist Claudia Dunes & Rainer Weston Daegan Wells of other spaces (drape), 2017 Bleached Terraces, 2017 HD digital video on 32” display, vinyl, c-stand Yyonne Rust, Werewolf Jug, stoneware; photograph courtesy of the artists of Olivia Spencer Bower’s home and studio, Christchurch, 1969, and constructed shelf of other spaces (arch), 2017 courtesy the artist, Robert and Barbara Stewart HD digital video on 32” display, vinyl, dolly, arm Library and Archives, and Christchurch Art Gallery bracket Te Puna o Waiwhetu courtesy of the artists Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall William Linscott International Foodcourt / Global Classic, 2016 XCIII, 2016 handweaving, pottery, signage, hospitality equipment HD digital video, two-channel sound, 17mins 28secs courtesy of the artists and private lenders Music by Flinn Gendall courtesy the artist Yllwbro Flowers of the Field III, 2017 Level 1 mixed media courtesy of the artists and Mokopo¯paki, Auckland Christopher Ulutupu See the additional sheet located in the Lower Into the Arms of My Colonizer, 2016 Chartwell Gallery for more information. digital video, sound, 16mins 22secs courtesy of the artist Pip¯ iwharauroa¯ Bird Whare, 2017 plywood, Zincalume, stainless steel screws, panel pin Christina Pataialii nails, pine dowel, stainless steel wire, hooks, paint From left to right: courtesy of the artists and Mokopo¯paki, Auckland Bite Fight – Mike Tyson, 2016 We¯ta¯’s Caravan & Mobile Home, 2017 acrylic, house paint and spray paint on canvas Beehive matchbox, toy wheels, copper wire courtesy of the artist courtesty of the artists and Mokopo¯paki, Auckland California Love – 2Pac, 2016 acrylic, house paint and spray paint on canvas Commissioned texts courtesy of the artist In addition to works in the exhibition, Adam Art Gallery is publishing three commissioned essays Black or White – Michael Jackson, 2016 by Matilda Fraser, Balamohan Shingade, and acrylic, house paint and spray paint on canvas Robyn Maree Pickens each month during the show. courtesy of the artist These will be available via our website: www.adamartgallery.org.nz and in hard copy My Cousin – Dwayne Johnson, 2016 from the gallery. acrylic, house paint and spray paint on canvas courtesy of the artist Islands in the Stream – Kenny Rogers, 2016 acrylic, house paint and spray paint on canvas courtesy of the artist Quishile Charan Temporary Vanua, 2016 cotton, textile ink, bamboo, rope courtesy of the artist Level 3, Entrance 10 8 9 6 7 5 4 3 2 11 1 Diva Blair 2 Hikalu Clarke 1 3 Fresh and Fruity 4 Tim Wagg Vic Books, 5 Wendelien Bakker Kelburn Parade 6 Deborah Rundle 7 Diva Blair 8 Teghan Burt 9 Xun Cao 10 Theo Macdonald 11 Isabella Loudon Level 2 19 18 14 17 13 16 15 12 12 12 Hikalu Clarke 13 Ammon Ngakuru 14 Aliyah Winter 15 Maddy Plimmer 16 Jesse Bowling 17 Sam Clague 18 Claudia Dunes & Rainer Weston 19 William Linscott Level 1 25 24 23 22 21 20 20 Chris Ulutupu 21 Christina Pataialii 22 Daegan Wells 23 Quishile Charan 24 Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall 25 Yllwbro Wendelien Bakker I’ve been on Google Maps for hours. I came here looking it has been captured by Google’s satellites; whether the for Wendelien Bakker’s backyard. ‘It can't be that hard’, I artist herself has looked for and found it. Satellite images thought, ‘just look for the littlest pool in Grey Lynn’. There have a unique ability to affirm what we know intimately by are more swimming pools than I expected. I didn’t realise showing it from an impossible distance, reiterating our that from the air trampolines might be confused for pools. existence within the expanse. I thought about how it must Picnic tables are similarly deceiving. The one I’m looking be nice, to know you’ve left a trace on the place you’ve for is small, I know this.