This exhibition marks the world premiere of one of the most ambitious screen-based projects from Aotearoa New Zealand in the presentation of Lisa Reihana's multi-screen panoramic video, in Pursuit of Venus [infected], 2015.
Vast in its complexity and scale, this digital video and sound installation challenges stereotypes developed through the gaze of imperialism and reappraises a widely distributed European representation of the Pacific from the early 19th Century in the form of Joseph Dufour's 1804 scenic wallpaper, Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique.
Dufour’s 20-panel wallpaper and its exotic neoclassical subject matter referenced popular illustrations of the times and mirrored a widespread fascination with Captain Cook and de la Perouse Pacific voyages.
Reihana refreshes, reactivates and reenergises these ideas from a Pacific perspective using digital technologies to create an immersive experience for audiences.
Lisa Reihana: in Pursuit of Venus [infected]
Exhibitions
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki • 2 May - 30 August
Hours
10am-5pm daily
Where
Cnr Kitchener and Wellesley Streets
Yes
Artists
Lisa Reihana
Theme
Lisa Reihana, in Pursuit of Venus (still), 2015,
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, gift of the
Patrons of Auckland Art Gallery, 2014