20 Dec 2012

This content is tagged as Multi-Artform .

NEWS

New Zealand artists to explore new directions in Asia

Five New Zealand artists will head to Asia next year after being chosen for the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s 2013 artist-in-residence exchanges. The artists will spend a minimum of two months working at the host studios and galleries.

The successful candidates are:

  • Christchurch artist Chris Pole- Shalini Ganendra Vision Culture Art residency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pole’s recent work consists of detailed oil paintings and drawings with somewhat flattened surfaces, focusing on both cityscapes and rural settings with a lack of human presence. He plans to use the residency to gather photographic images reflecting the range of Kuala Lumpur architecture, and translate these photos into paintings.
  • Christchurch artist Mat Logan  - Taipei Artist Village residency in Taiwan. Logan, whose work has explored themes around colonisation and cultural exoticism, plans to create a boat before embarking on the residency.  He will take it with him to Taipei, giving it away when he finishes the residency as a motif for exchange.  He also intends to make European and colonial forms by responding to Taiwanese objects, building on his previous work in New Zealand.
  • Wellington multi-media artist, writer and musician Jessica Hansell- Goyang Art Studio residency in Seoul. Hansell has previously taught in South Korea and is looking forward to returning to explore her art. During the residency, she plans to produce a small arts publication “Soul to Seoul”, which will feature comic strips, illustrations, photographs and writing.
  • Wellington musician Tristan Carter- 1 Shanthi Road residency in Bangalore, India. Carter, who is particularly interested in the folk and classical traditions of South India, plans to collaborate with local musicians during his residency. He also intends to record street performers and assist in producing cheap albums for them to circulate, and possibly incorporate these recordings into a larger project.
  • Auckland visual artist Matthew Cowan- S-AiR Sapporo residency in Hokkaido, Japan. Cowan’s current practice is in the realm of traditional folk customs and he intends to use the Japanese theatrical traditions as a starting point for his work during the residency.

Asia New Zealand Foundation director, culture Jennifer King says the residencies are based in prominent institutions and can be life-changing experiences for New Zealand artists.  “They are challenged in their practices, and they have to find new ways of working in a different environment.

“They are exposed to a wider range of artists than they would meet in New Zealand, and that often pushes them in new directions.  They end up working on collaborative projects with artists from Asia and around the world.”

The residencies in South Korea, Japan and Taipei are made possible with funding from Creative New Zealand’s Toi Uru Kahikatea (Arts Development) Investment programme.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to building New Zealand’s links with Asia through a range of programmes, including business, culture, education, media, research and a Young Leaders Network.

For more information or to obtain photographs of the artists, contact:

Rebecca Palmer
Asia New Zealand Foundation media adviser
rpalmer@asianz.org.nz
027 226 8707