For the 2014 Auckland Outsider Art Fair

Curated
New Zealand 2014
PAGE 1
Curated
Curated
Outside
Reflections on the
Outsider Art Fair
in downtown Auckland
GREGORY O’BRIEN
I
T
he thrill is gone. Or maybe it has just migrated to some
peripheral area of the art world. In an era when mainstream
art often feels over-theorised or over-professionalised, on the
one hand, and disaffected on the other, the work of outsider
artists offers a re-enchantment with the potentialities of art
and art-making. Outsider artists wear their art like a second
skin. The works, accordingly, remain close to the reality of
the sensory world around them. At the same time—in the
course of art-making—this outer reality becomes an inner
one. We find ourselves entering a realm of heightened
and often distorted forms; yet we also recognise animals,
children, domestic spaces and the street outside. With so
much contemporary practice talked into a corner, drained
of any humanity, done to death, herein we re-encounter a
life-infused, ephipanic and often thrilling art.
II
For a raft of good reasons, artists within the mainstream
have looked to outsider art for creative sustenance and
replenishment. Outsider art is a conundrum. It can be,
at once, purposeful and anarchic, elusive and generous,
paradoxical yet internally consistent, deeply personal yet
infused with archetypes. It can be joyous and it can be a bit
of a worry.
Well beyond the instance of McCahon, the influence of
outsider art can be seen in the work of such mainstream
artists as Dick Frizzell, Denis O’Connor, Bronwyne Cornish,
Peter Robinson, Saskia Leek, to name only a few. As Damien
Skinner has extrapolated, Theo Schoon and Gordon Walters
were hugely affected by the work of psychiatric patient
Rolfe Hattaway back in the 1950s. Two decades later, Tony
Fomison and numerous other Auckland artists were awestruck before the work of the ‘Grandma Moses of the South
Pacific’, Teuane Tibbo. In the houses of many artists, I have
seen outsider works hanging in pride of place, like calendars
for a year their owners can only dream of living through.
III
Located close to the centre of metropolitan Auckland, the
‘Outsider Art Fair’ might well be the long-awaited return of
what Ian Wedde once called ‘mystic provincialism’—a decentred, unfettered, visionary New Zealand art. Might this
event be a necessary step towards the kind of diversity and
democracy that any decent city should strive towards? Is
this a case of New Zealand’s largest city finally starting to
PAGE 2
Is this a case of New Zealand’s largest city finally starting to think of itself as a nexus for
outside, independent, maverick influences..?
think of itself as a nexus for outside, independent, maverick
influences rather than being a self-obsessed, streamlined
and blandly commercial hub? How refreshing to leave
behind the hype-inflected, wolfish mainstream art world
and enter another kind of market. Not that there’s anything
wrong with a sensible and lively commercialism.
IV
Displaying outsider art beyond the accustomed walls of a
conventional gallery-space is a further renegotiation of the
relationship between these works and the world around
them. A feature of the Outsider Art Fair will be the works
exhibited in retail outlets, including the fashion houses,
around the Britomart precinct. Nothing transcends fashion
(as in fashionability) more than first-rate Fashion (think of the
designs of Issey Miyake or, closer to home, Marilyn Sainty,
Doris de Pont and Beth Ellery (to name a few favourites). In
the designated shop windows, I imagine a lively, relaxed yet
sparky conversation between the wares. Like fashion, art
offers an enhancement of inner and outer self; it speaks of
identity and emotional states; it often expresses notions of
the body and states of physical closeness or detachment.
Like clothing, outsider art speaks of self-image and selfprojection.
own terms, and not for a moment trying to fit or blend in.
The warrior has sailed here on a waka from out beyond
the Waitemata Harbour, or he could as easily have bussed
in on the 715 from Glen Innes. If he could speak, it would
be perfect Te Reo, but with a faint Scottish accent of the
kind that Hone Tuwhare would adopt, inexplicably but
wonderfully, when reading. At once standing in the thick
of things yet simultaneously apart, Macalister’s figure is a
warrior of the imagination, a genius by Vosmaer’s reckoning.
Of the Maori warrior, I believe the artists involved in the
Outsider Art Fair can say: He is one of us.
VII
As if on some kind of Jungian auto-pilot, outsider works
set to peel back the layers of the human condition. In their
ardour, their commitment, audacity and brio, they offer a
timely challenge to artists whatever stream they are in: Are
you going far enough? In what ways are you present in the
work? Have you really given of yourself?
Gregory O’Brien
V
The Dutch poet/critic Carel Vosmaer once noted that
geniuses tended to be stand-alone figures who can be
as ‘isolated, colossal, and sometimes also as bizarre and
enigmatic as sphinxes in the desert of Celtic menhirs’.
VI
Molly Macalister’s lone figure, Maori Warrior (1964-66),
stands sentinel only a few metres from the entrance to the
Britomart Building. With its mix of modernism, primitivism, a
certain monumentalism and—above all else--its intractable
humanity, Macalister’s sculpture is the perfect emblem for
the ‘Outsider Art Fair’. In its present setting, her figure—which
was famously memorialised in a poem by Hone Tuwhare--is
an outsider, the archetypal interloper; he will never be part
of the mainstream as it gathers at the pedestrian crossing
on Quay Street. He is a survivor. He is standing tall, on his
PAGE 3
Curated
STUART SHEPHERD
Let’s be
Fair
Curated
T
It could be argued that the work of self-taught artists is THE art of New Zealand - art that
reflects the very particular inner islandscape of the individual.
he mood for an art fair devoted to the work of selftaught artists has been building in New Zealand over
the past several years. Arts Access Aotearoa in Wellington
deserves some credit for fueling the appetite for such
a fair. They have organized exhibitions in parliament
buildings in Wellington and at Pataka Museum in Porirua.
In 2009 the Prime Minister Helen Clark opened the show.
Their effort has been to keep awareness of the creative
potential of people with disabilities alive in the community
and at governmental level. The various creative spaces
around the country also deserve credit for their work to
provide access to art making facilities for people with
limited resources.
There is a secret history of art in New Zealand. It took
the New Zealand mainstream society and its education
system over 100 years to recognize and legitimize Maori
art. That recognition only really got going with the
N.Y. Metropolitan Museums reception of the Te Maori
exhibition in 1984. Maori art and culture was not part of
the curriculum when I was a student. (Am I that old?)
Similarly it is taking a long time for the education system
to recognize and appreciate the work of self-taught artists.
Meanwhile, internationally the presence of work by selftaught artists has increasingly been making an impact on
the contemporary art world. Last years Venice Biennale
saw that bastion of international contemporary art break
open to feature the work of the Museum of Everything, and
the work by self-taught artists, selected by contemporary
curators, became the defining focus of that entire show.
It could be argued that the work of self-taught artists is
THE art of New Zealand. Art work that does not follow
the rules of proper (Anglo) society and its (proper)
perspectives, Art work that responds intuitively to the
limited materials and conditions of a pacific island nation.
And art that reflects the very particular inner islandscape
of the individual.
This inaugural Auckland Outsider Art Fair has a number
of particular ambitions. Firstly it aims to celebrate the
work of New Zealand’s self-taught artists and to generate
excitement around the showcasing of previously
unknown N.Z. art work. Strategically, this celebration is
happening in Auckland’s Nathan Building, at street level
in the Britomart market area, not in an institution high
up on a hill. The fair aims to be accessible to the widest
audience. So it is free!!!
With a nod to these untold histories, folk art specialist,
John Perry is our guest curator and has selected several
rare paintings from last century. And to confirm the
global presence of “outsider art”, and as a gesture of
trans-pacific creative solidarity we are hosting a group of
drawings from Creativity Explored in San Francisco. C.E.
was started 40 years ago, and is one of North America’s
most respected workshops fostering the work of selftaught artists.
Secondly, the fair hopes to contribute to the increasingly
diverse culture of downtown Auckland and importantly
it hopes to engage with the local economy. To this
end various fashion houses in the local precinct will be
exhibiting work by self-taught artists, and fashion designer
Jeanine Clarkin will be collaborating with three artists and
revealing these original designs on the opening night.
Students from Bay of Plenty Polytechnic will be printing
t-shirts as part of another collaborative enterprise with
the artists.
Typically the range of work on show in an art fair is
determined by the range of participating dealer galleries.
For this inaugural art fair in N.Z. that range of specialist
galleries does not exist. The market place for this
material is still at the fledgling stage. I see this fair as an
opportunity to welcome audiences new to this field, and
an opportunity to help link our artists with other sectors
of the community.
The reality for many self-taught artists is marginalization
from both the established art world and from the wider
economy.
Let me introduce three of the outstanding artists in the
curated section of the Fair. Each of these artists has
managed to produce important original work against
We are aiming to showcase some of this countries very
best art work. “Best” by any measure.
incredible odds here at home, and each deserves the
international acclaim they have received.
At the time of writing, Auckland artist Susan Te Kahurangi
King is being honoured in N.Y.C. with a major solo
exhibition at the Andrew Edlin Gallery. Susan lost the
ability to communicate verbally as a child, her work has
been hailed by New York writer Edward Gomez as an
important discovery, making a unique contribution to the
story of modernism and to contemporary image making.
Jim Dornan (deceased) of Wairoa, was the first New
Zealand artist to be invited to exhibit at the American
Visionary Art Museum, His legacy of paintings and
drawings reveal a wicked sense of humour, in the cryptic
portrayals of the brain and its various conditions. His work
is generating great interest from off shore museums and
we are featuring several of his signature banner/paintings.
Martin Thompson is the first artist from New Zealand to
be collected by the American Folk Art Museum. Martin’s
work has subsequently been collected by all the major
New Zealand collections, despite living for many years
without any acknowledgment in central Wellington.
I admire enormously any artist who has arrived at their
own unique visual language. This fair shows the work of
many such artists. I hope the widest possible audience
gets a chance to recognize and enjoy this variety of
original work.
Creative expression is a human trait, it happens
naturally and universally, and if extraordinary examples
of original expression come to the surface somewhere
in the community then they need to be recognized
and celebrated. What has happened in the past is that
unconventional, original expression has been mislabelled, or unrecognized, or worst of all, it has been
shamed and dismissed by those who have a long
established status quo.
Stuart Shepherd
Curator
PAGE 5
JIM DORNAN
Curated
J
im Dornan lived in the small New Zealand Town of
Wairoa in the 1960s and 70s. Among other jobs, he
painted backdrops for the local theatre society. His personal
paintings relate to a period when he spent time in Kingseat
Hospital. Jim portrayed the human psyche in a series of
double-side banners. He painted the fleshy make-up of
the brain as a system, including its operating conditions;
medicine and education.
Creativity Explored exists to provide people with
developmental disabilities the opportunity to express
themselves through the creation of art. Additionally, we
provide studio artists the opportunity to earn income
A key focus of Creativity Explored’s services is to support
those individuals with developmental disabilities who wish
to become self-employed artists in creating and operating
fully viable and profitable businesses.
Jim’s extraordinary artwork was recognized by a young
neighbour, Chris Wilson. Chris rescued Jim’s work from
being dumped after his death. In 2002, the Dowse Art
Museum held the first exhibition of Jim’s work, and
subsequently his work has been shown at the New York
Outsider Art Fair, the American Visionary Art Museum in
Baltimore and at Madmusee in Liege Belgium.
Jim Dornan
OAF / PAGE 6
CREATIVITY EXPLORED
Curated
from the sale of their artwork and to pursue a livelihood
as a visual artist to the fullest extent possible.
John Patrick McKenzie
Daniel Green
Ana Maria Vidalon
Camillie Holvoet
PAGE 7
Curated
JOHN PERRY
This collection of paintings has been curated for the
inaugural ‘’outsider art fair’’ from a substantial body of work
collected over the last 50 years that focuses on the folk and
self taught arts and crafts primarily of NZ artists and crafts
people.
They represent a small selection of the material accumulated
over the period which is now stored in the old Helensville
‘’picture theater’’.
It is hoped that with the recent cautious embrace of digital
technology the collections can be shared with a much
wider audience in the not to distant future.
4 x 5 - four self taught artists
Joseph Alach Dick Lyne Dave O’Neill Peter Vessey
20 paintings from the John Perry collection...... PAUL NOFFKE
Dick Lyne Born in Frankton in 1927 he worked in many
manual jobs and spent 15 years working as a bushman in
the central north island. Upon his retirement at 65 he took to
painting entirely self taught, his works focused primarily on
his experiences as a bushman. In the last decade he held 5
one person exhibitions and had works included in a number
of group exhibitions. Dick Lynes painting of famous kauri
trees and bush landscapes have been much admired and
purchased by collectors from America, Australia, England
and France . He died in Auckland in 2014.
Peter Vessey At this stage not a lot of biographical
information has been collected on the life of Peter Vessey.
His rather unique colourful paintings were discovered in
a hospice shop on Auckland’s northshore. His paintings
suggest a meticulous man with considerable attention to
detail, perhaps with a navy background. Surviving his wife
and having no children his tidy estate was left lock stock and
artworks to the northshore hospice. He died in Auckland in
2014.
(1965 -2014)
“I create art to establish a sense of inner peace. Making art
brings me enjoyment, however while it evokes feelings
of serenity/tranquility it also challenges and excites me
to improve myself. Art is my way of coping with life in a
positive and imaginative way.
Paul Noffke
My art style has changed over this time; earlier I painted
mostly abstracts, but now my work could be classified
as outsider art. I like to play around with different styles
of figurative work and enjoy juxtaposing colour and
challenging the viewer with confrontational imagery. My
figures initially appear simple, but on closer inspection
they are complex in expression and in the execution of
colour and style”.
ARTISTS FROM
DRIVING CREEK
Joseph Alach Born in Yugoslavia, he came to NZ at the
age of 17. He worked in various jobs including gum digger,
land agent and in a fish shop. He painted as a hobby and
has paintings in the University of Auckland collection.
The Onehunga library and a number of important private
collections. His paintings included portraits landscapes of NZ
and Yugoslavia and a number of visionary subjects. He died
in Auckland in 1980.
Dave O’Neill Born in Dublin in 1918 he saw active service in
W.W.2 as a dispatch rider. He came to NZ in 1953, lived in and
worked in the central north island. An admirer of the works
of Goya, Turner and Degas. His painting were concerned
with his own rich life, memory and imagination. O’Neill’s
paintings were included landmark exhibitions including The
innocent eye: the Baird’s Vision: Not bad eh! Near the end of
last century he died in Levin. Curated
Wailin Elliott
The pottery from Barry Brickell and his driving creek railway
on the edge of Coromandel township is internationally
acclaimed. Much less known is the work of his friends
and associates who have shared his world over the past
thirty years. This might be the first time the work of Wailin
and Tom Elliott has been shown beside paintings by Barry
Brickell.
REECE TONG
From lower left:
Dick Lyne
Dave O’Neill
Peter Vessey
Joseph Alach
Born in 1968 Reece Tong grew up around the small
farming communities of New Plymouth on New
Zealand’ s west coast. He worked at various labouring
jobs before applying himself to his artwork at the studios
of Vincent’s Community Art workshop in Wellington.
Reece’s work has been exhibited internationally through
Australian artist, curator, art collector and advocate of
self-taught artists, Peter Fay, at the National Gallery
of Australia, and through Stuart Shepherd, curator of
Outsider Art Fair NZ, exhibited in New York and Paris. He
now lives in Wellington, works at Pablos Art Studios, and
exhibits at ROAR! Gallery.
Reece Tong
PAGE 8
PAGE 9
Curated
ANDREW BLYTHE
Andrew Blythe is a gifted self-taught artist whose
arresting, rhythmic paintings possess a raw and deeply
moving beauty. Andrew is not inclined to label or title his
paintings, but rather for them to be seen as an ongoing
dialogue of “free expression. Since 2000 his passion for
painting has been supported by Toi Ora Live Art Trust
and the Toi Ora Gallery.
Tim Melville, Director of Tim Melville Gallery, has been
showing Andrew’s work since 2011. On first seeing one of his
paintings in the Chartwell Collection at Auckland Art Gallery
Melville was drawn to its formal qualities; “the clarity of his
marks reminded me of Aboriginal painting... I loved the way
the eye was pushed and pulled around its surface.” It was
only after meeting Andrew through Toi Ora Live Arts Trust,
and hearing his story, that Melville understood its human
resonance. “Andrew’s paintings are dense and very complex,
yet they feel resolved and complete. He talks about ‘striving
for harmony’ in his work, and for me they feel like stream-ofconsciousness... you can sense Andrew struggling to create
order from the chaos. He’s a bit like all of us really.” Curated
RAY RITCHIE
Ray works simultaneously in various manners. His primary
manner could be seen as following the noble New Zealand
tradition of backyard tinkering by retired tradesmen; makers
of whirligigs in the form of running Pukeko and cut-out,
used tires that look like swans. Another way Ray works is
as a wordsmith; his signs recall the work of preacher-folkartists of the bible belt in the U.S.A.
He has managed to elevate the ‘language’ of the backyard
hobbyist to a realm that involves poetry and philosophy
and keyed-up, visual, mischief-making in general. The
subversive and whimsical humour at play in Ray’s work
is balanced by a deeper impulse. It is his depiction of the
transience of things, and it could be read as a spiritual
element. In this place where things are not fixed in form or
time, the folly of human politics and institutional authority
gets revealed.
Andrew Blythe
Ray Ritchie
SUSAN TE KAHURANGI KING
Susan Te Kahurangi King doesn’t speak with words, but shares
much of her world through extraordinary drawings.
Born in
New Zealand in 1951, King stopped speaking around age four
but drew prolifically through her thirties, when, suddenly, she
stopped. In 2008, almost twenty years later, she resumed
her work, picking up where she left off. Since then, King has
continued her remarkable output of drawings in graphite,
pencil, crayon, ink, and pens of various types. Intense,
whimsical, wide-ranging, and haunting, her references and
subjects dare us to interpret them in any logical way—and
we fail. Still, we remain engaged and intrigued by their
skillful audaciousness.
King’s family has supported her art
making with unwavering faith and affection. One of a
dozen children in a tumultuous household, her mother
saved and preserved her drawings in trunks and
cases. Some were dated and annotated. They have all
been organized and catalogued. King’s drawings and
sketchbooks range from simple images to rich, fully
drawn pages alive with complex textures that defy
interpretation. Each piece reveals a profoundly active
imagination and hints at the depth of King’s output, offering
viewers a peek into her worlds and those she has yet to
reveal.
TRACEY TAWHIAO
I painted my life into a creative world. In this world I am
at peace. There is no external measure. I do what comes
naturally and I trust nature and her Laws. Nature and I are
one. Nothing and No one can change this immutable Law.
Art taught me how to Live positively.
My tribes are Ngai Te Rangi, Tuwharetoa and Whakatohea.
As a self taught artist I have exhibited works nationally
and internationally including New York, Los Angeles,
Washington DC, Paris, Le Havre, Tahiti, Melbourne and
Sydney.
I run my own Art Salon and I live in Piha. www.houseoftaonga.com
www.traceytawhiao.com
Courtesy: Edward Gomez
Susan Te Kahurangi King
PAGE 10
Tracey Tawhiao
PAGE 11
Curated
KATHRYN WILSON
COLIN KOROVIN
Features
Andrew Blythe
Born on 6 June in 1955 in Newtown, Wellington. His father
was Russian and his mother was Greek Macedonian.
His mission and his delight is to ‘text-map’ the world as it
tumbles through time. He works in very simple materials
in a very direct manner. He uses paper and ballpoint pen,
sometimes interwoven with coloured pencil. Colin’s studio
and his community is Vincent’s Community art workshop in
Wellington where he works regular office hours. Colin’s work
might come under the title of ‘preacher art’, a category that
applies to a manner of text-laden art from religious southern
small-town America. Colin creates lists of global and local
places and phenomena and he always locates himself and
his station within the mix. Indicated on all work is the date,
often including the season. The passage of time matters and
is a real concern for Colin in his work. Colin Korovin
Curated
Kathryn Wilson is New Zealand’s most successful
footwear designer, celebrated for her innovative
designs. The fresh white space of her Britomart store
is an ideal gallery for the brilliant colours of her shoes
and the monochromatic abstracts of Andrew Blythe.
Colin Korovin
ROGER MORRIS
Born Roxbourgh NZ Dec 29 1954. Morris is a painter and
printmaker who divides his time between rural Taranaki
and downtown Wellington.
He has had numerous group and solo exhibitions since
1986.
Andrew Blythe
Some of which include: New York 2000, Lincoln center
Basement gallery, St Petersburg Museum War Art, Thistle
Hall At the Family Gallery lower Cuba St, Enjoy Gallery,
Pablo’s and Vincents art workshop auctions. He has
won two ‘awards’ one from Canada and mail art award
Museus De Tarragona 1999.
Roger Morris
PAGE 12
Kathryn Wilson Store
10 Te Ara Tahuhu Walking Street
Britomart
Auckland CBD
www.kathrynwilson.com
PAGE 13
Pop Up
Pop Up
KATE SLYVESTER
KAREN WALKER
Features
Tracey Tawhiao
Features
Laura Williams
Features
Hareruia Aperahama
Known for her immaculate tailoring and strongly
conceptual collections, Auckland designer Kate
Sylvester work plays off disparate references, stitching
sportswear to couture, femininity to masculinity, pop
culture to history, high art to punk rock.
Preeminent New Zealand designer Karen Walker is
equal parts local fashion royalty and international
design wunderkind. She blends disparate influences
into an original and unpretentious style, reflected in her
chic new flagship store at Britomart.
Filled with all things girlie and gorgeous, coucou is
a colourful sweetshop of vintage fashion treasures,
accessories and one-off labels.
Founded on a quirky manifesto that emphasises living
“long, healthy and fun lives” the Lululemon brand has
earned a worldwide following of loyal fans.
The contrasts and incongruities explored in the
collections are evident in the design of the new flagship
store at Britomart.
Like Karen, Tracey Tawhiao is no stranger to international
success having exhibited in New York, Paris, Tahiti and
Melbourne. Her artworks convey the breadth of her
experience, showing influences of her Maori heritage.
Tracey has collaborated with Karen Walker in the past.
“We are proud to be part of the Outsider Art fair this year
and were honoured to be able to choose from such
talented artists.
Hareruia Aperahama has equally earned a growing
international reputation. An Arts Foundation Laureate
and multiple Tui Award winner, Ruia’s visual art work
has mostly been seen in his illustrations for the te reo
children’s magazine, “Maori, Taiki e!”. His recent art
work has been on display as part of Toi Ora’s monthly
exhibitions.
Features
Reece Tong
This is the perfect place to exhibit Reece Tongs
work which is known as the art of simplification and
essentialisation. Through the lens of his visual language
Reece is free to describe his world, and his choice of
subject matter injects the work with his character and
his humour.
At both Made and Coucou we have a love of colours and
patterns and were delighted when we saw some of Laura’s
work as we felt she had a similar appreciation of these.”
LULULEMON
Laura Williams
Reece Tong
Hareruia Aperahama
Tracey Tawhiao
Kate Sylvester
58 Tylers Street
Seafarers Building
Britomart, Auckland CBD
www.katesylvester.com
The Pavilions at Britomart
18 Te Ara Tāhuhu Walking Street
Britomart, Auckland CBD
www.karenwalker.com
Masonic House
30 Customs Street East
Britomart, Auckland CBD
www.coucouboutique.co.nz
The Pavilions at Britomart
5A Gore Street
Britomart, Auckland CBD
www.lululemon.co.nz
PAGE 15
Pop Up
WESTPAC WINDOW
T
he Market place is held in the Nathan Club on Galway
Street. The venue showcases the raw beauty of the
superb 100-year-old building, with antique wooden
floors, exposed brick walls and raw timber pillars and
beams and sets the scene perfectly for this market which
is filled to the brim with an exciting range of works.
From high end paintings and wearable artworks to the
more affordable prints and creations there is something
for everyone in this fair.
Featuring Paul Noffke &
Bryan Slight
The Westpac building in Britomart houses some of
New Zealand’s top artists and for the Outsider Art Fair they are
featuring two of Toi Ora’s top artists.
Curated
The passing of Paul Noffke earlier this year was a great loss to
Toi Ora and the arts community. His work sensitively conveys a
vulnerability many artists struggle to express. He reveled in the
organic use of colour and materials
In contrast, Bryan Slight’s large work on hemp is an emotional
response to a physical reaction.
Anita Whosoever
“The eye deceives, the mind creates the image or impressions
of our existence with the knowledge of what we think the world
or existence is! As simple or as complex as that!
I have been painting all my adult life and never had any training,
only the simple understanding that one picture is worth a
thousand words!”
Kama Szabo
Bryan Slight
Nikki Dixon
Paul Noffke
Westpac Bank
Galway Street
Britomart, Auckland CBD
www.westpac.co.nz
Selwyn Vercoe
Patrick Te Ariki
Nathan Club
51 Galway Street
Britomart, Auckland CBD
www.nathanclub.co.nz
PAGE 17
Curated
Collective
LIVE ART BATTLE
coLAB hosts collaborative live art battles where visual artists
perform in competitive live art making. The focus of coLAB
is its strength in diversity, locality and collaboration.
Onesian - founder of coLAB
Onesian’s work is suggestive of the urban influences of
South Auckland and influences from parallel cultures such
as the hip hop/urban culture in Los Angeles. His designs
often reflect the struggles of working-class urban cultures
and pay tribute to mottos and morals propagated in hip
hop culture such as ‘loyalty and respect’, ‘faith’ and ‘fidelity’
to one’s origins’. These are also strong beliefs in Pacific
culture, thus connecting the Pacific to a global urban
dialogue.
Bryan Slight (detail)
www.onesian.com
James King
A
rtists from the collective will be creating works in
the Britomart precinct over the weekend, following
their participation in the successful “Colour of my
Communities” mural project, (Soho Development
Crummer Rd, Ponsonby).
Alan Vili
Michel Mulipola - comic book artist
Michel Mulipola is a self taught comic
book artist from Auckland. He immersed
himself in the world of comic books
from the tender age of five and has
drawn comic books from that moment
on.
He has done work for various
anthologies and is currently working on
the U.S comic book, Headlocked: The
Last Territory.
Formed in Nov 2014, we are a co-operative of artists from
Toi Ora Gallery working independently to promote our art
through new initiatives. We are entirely artist-led, with the
aim of creating a unique identity representing our artists.
We seek to foster artist development through peer support
and mentoring, and to facilitate new opportunities for
participation in the arts.
We have collaborative projects aimed at promoting
artwork to a wide audience through community, retail
and web ventures, and we will be showcasing a range
of affordably priced prints online and at craft markets
throughout Auckland.
Michel Mulipola
Louise Williams
PAGE 18
Outsider Art Fair opening night Live Art Battle,
Nathan Club
Takutai Square, Britomart Precinct
PAGE 19
Collaboration
AN ARTIST
AND DESIGNER
COLLABORATION
The Outsider Art Fair and Toi Ora
Live Art Trust would like to thank the
following people and places:
Creativity Explored (USA)
Sarah Hull and the team at Coopers and Co.
Outsider artists, Andrew Blythe, Hareruia Aperahama and
Bryan Slight have colloborated with fashion designer,
Jeanine Clarkin to create a collection specifically for this
inaugural fair. These will be showcased at the launch
event to highlight the potential that exists when artists
and industry come together.
Heart of the City
Jeanine Clarkin established her Maori street wear label in
1994, blending Maori art and design for a new generation
and projecting Maori fashion into the new millennium.
Clarkin has worked as a costume designer for dance and
theatre, a fashion show producer and creative director,
and more recently as a curator for art exhibitions and
events
The French Art Shop
Clarkin’s 2012 collection shows how her unique style
has evolved with time. It takes you on a journey through
seasons and hemispheres, with solid winter wool pieces
complemented by more ephemeral references.
Dan and Phantom Billstickers
The collection springs from the conceptual body of
the Wharenui, where tinana (body), wairua (spirit) and
mauri (life force) are held together in balance. Clarkin
incorporates patterns drawn from tukutuku, continuing
the traditional women’s fibre art of the Wharenui, as
well as developing her interest in colonization and the
exchanges of Maori lands for ‘blankets’. The resulting
garments are contemporary high fashion statements,
founded in matauranga Maori.
Tracey Tawhiao
Bay of Plenty Polytechnic
Bruce Adams
Philippa McDermott
The Museum of Everything
Arts Access Aotearoa
Peek Displays
Raw Vision magazine
Montana Paints
AV Events
Junk and Disorderly
The Ned
Edward Gomez
Erwin van Asbeck
Stuart Shepherd
Richard Wolfe
Tim Walker
Ole Maiava
Rachel Coppage
James King
Thistle Ridge
Tim Melville
Charlotte Fisher
Janette Searle
Jill Godwin
Sue Gardiner
Melinda Butt
Jeanine Clarkin
Faye Norman
Wallace Stevenson
Eva Trombik
Alan Villi
Josie McNaught
Glenn Heenan
Greg Callinan
Elliott Blade
Ruia Aperahama
Crossroads Clubhouse
And all our fantastic Volunteers
PAGE 20
PAGE 21
Curated
Monday 17th - Monday 24th
Saturday 22nd November
Sunday 23rd November
Pop UP exhibition
spaces open
Curated Exhibition and
Market place
Curated Exhibition and
Market place
Where: The Britomart Precinct Stores including:
Kathryn Wilson, Kate Sylvester, Karyn Walker,
Coucou, Made, Lululemon, and the Westpac
entrance
Where: The Nathan Club
Where: The Nathan Club
From: 10am till 5pm
From: 10am till 5pm
10am: Circability workshop
outside the venue
Friday 21st November
Panel discussion
Live art - at Lululemon
Panel hosted by; Josie McNaught (Broadcaster,
Journalist) http://www.josiemcnaught.com
Hareruia Aperahama will be creating works
specifically for the Lululemon space
Where: The Pavilions at Britomart
5A Gore Street
From: Noon
10am: Circability workshop
outside the venue
The two panel sessions will include artists,
writers, academics, and perspectives from
cultural and public institutions; Stuart Shepherd,
Tim Walker, Richard Wolfe, Ole Maiava, Tracey
Tawhiao, James King, Hareruia Aperahama and
Rachel Coppage
Live Art - in the square
coLAB and Toi Ora Artists Collective will be
creating works at different locations in the
Takutai square
When: From 11am
Noon to 1pm: Outsider Art , What is it and why
does it matter, where has it come from and
where are we in the international scene.
2-3pm: Outsider Art in the NZ/Aotearoa cultural
context and relationships with mainstream
galleries and contemporary art
The Launch Event
Opening of the curated exhibition and
market place
Where: The Nathan Club
NZ Sign language interpreters will be in
attendance at both panel discussions.
Celebrations include:
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kathryn wilson
karen walker
The coLAB live art battle,
Daniel Larson-Barr, Poet,
Fashion runway show,
Circability performance
Live music and dj
Live art - in the square
colab and toi ora artis collective will be creating
works at different locations in the Takutai square
From: 6pm till 10pm
PAGE 22
lululemon
westpac
coucou
When: From 11am
Where: The Nathan Club
kate sylvester
nathan club
PAGE 23
Curated
Toi Ora would like to thank the following major sponsors for this Inaugural event:
Toi Ora Live Art Trust, 6 Putiki Street, Auckland 1021 www.toiora.org.nz info@toiora.org.nz