The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

Migrating Bodies: Contemporary Art Practices in New Zealand 'These international exhibitions are very much like a big shopping centre ... Your time and your space are not necessarily my space ormytime ' John Pule 'It is not my place in the waka ... ...woman white ... But I place a reflector on its tail to guide my flight. And as a reflection I gain invisibility .. ' Judy Millar Art-making in New Zealand in recent times has tended to focus on its international outlook by seeking acceptance of its ideas and values from a wider audience. This has been propagated not only by critical discussions of local exhibitions in journals like Art and Text, but also by travelling exhibitions to Australia and Europe which assert the notion 'We speak the some language' as a passport to the global enterprise of ideas. Shows like 'Distance Looks our Way' in 1992 and 'Cultural Safety' in 1995 are excellent examples of this development. These travelling exhibitions also show a commitment to the issue of biculturalism, a policy that places Maori and Pakeha (white settlers) on an equal footing by either including some aspect of biculturalism (the cover of the catalogue for 'Distance Looks our Way') or thematically alluding to it (as in 'Cultural Safety'). It is interesting to note the feverish individualism wielded by the exhibition 'Distance Looks our Way'. Statements such as 'there is an ironic refusal by artists to sign on for the task of tackling national identity' were coupled with a tourism-like approach to the selling of the artists to the European market, beautifully packaged with a postcard picture of a Maori maiden and an ornamented statue of an 'inspired' Madonna amongst native bush on the catalogue cover. Perhaps this ironically says that a kind of duality does exist here. Ethnic minority groups like Pacific Islanders and Asians have to negotiate a passage between these two footholds, 'migrating' from one to the other. A recent exhibition of contemporary Pacific Island artists titled 'Bottled Ocean: Contemporary Polynesian Artists' tried to present an informed view of this other facet of New Zealand culture by literally 'showcasing' Pacific Islanders and their art. Paintings were displayed behind perspex like a window display and sculptures were exhibited in their wrappers, thus providing more questions than answers. Negotiations around these issues, which include discussions of gender and sexuality, are now becoming an integral part of art practice in New Zealand and may also reflect the phenomena of 'Polynisation', a word coined by Jim Vivieaere, who curated 'Bottled Ocean', to explain not only the 124 I A RT I s T s: PA c I FI c 're-appropriating of Polynesian ideas and values by Polynesians', but also the endless possibilities presented by these multi-transactions. The two wakas of artists representing New Zealand bring a lot of noisy exchanges to the Second Asia– Pacific Triennial. Participating artists were asked at the beginning of the project to provide theoretical statements relating to the idea of the two wakas (vessels lashed together as a platform) for New Zealand artists at the Triennial. The responses varied from acceptance of the concept to the question by Lisa Reihana, 'Why have two wakas instead of one?' Two wakas reflect the duality of gender and biculturalism-two vessels of desire for either or both. These issues and many more were left unresolved as part of an ongoing negotiating process which is the focus of the works. The binding together of the wakas is the starting point for dialogue and exchanges which will not only speak of unity or resolution, but also provide a place for slippages to happen or to become 'invisible' in. Five men and six women on two wakas present a charged and volatile mix. Five works are to be conceived of and completed before the event, with the remaining six constructed on site from anything at hand by the women's group. There is an element of anticipation in this 'numbers game' which places potentially volatile bodies in close proximity and, in waiting to hear the 'rattle' of traffic and the excitement of migrating bodies, defines and redefines their boundaries. This was poetically expressed by John Pule when he remarked that the work is 'like two lines sleeping together and the space between them is what's being talked about'. The space that John Pule alludes to is the manava, a common word in Polynesia meaning the navel (mana means life force, va means the gap or void). This space or gap gives meaning to this group of works from New Zealand. Albert L. Refiti, Architectural Designer/Theoreticianand Artist, Aotearoa/New Zealand TIE WAICA C8LLICTM Taking it on Board We live lives based on selected fictions. Metaphors tell us where we've come from and signal where we might be going. We make significant these journeys, these stories that define our identity and give us a place in our culture.We give voice to such narratives in any creative act-in conversation, in the adoption of personal style, through art-making. Metaphors are useful and powerful things. The more well-crafted, the more effectively they glide into the waters of collective consciousness to create a sense of belonging, to galvanise people into action. For the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial, a metaphor has been found that is powerful enough to take the work of eleven New Zealand artists to Australia, to collectively and separately represent new currents in New Zealand's visual arts culture. The New Zealand contribution to this project has been pictured in the symbolic shape of two wakas, one male, one female. Lashed together for support, the twin crafts support and sustain one another in a voyage of discovery and exchange, recalling the historic paths of migration that settled the islands in the Pacific. Here, the collective identity of a diverse group of individuals is given strength and definition by this symbolic collaboration. The waka is a powerful symbol from the historic consciousness of this region. As the traditional vessel of group transport in Maori culture, as well as in the wider Pacific, the waka plays a central role in the stories that serve to define our background, that give people a sense of belonging in this part of the world. In recent times, this metaphor for collective action which originates in the indigenous cultures of the Pacific has been conscripted by generic popular culture in New Zealand to describe a new sense of nationhood. New Zealand's current Prime Minister, for example, styles himself as 'the great helmsman': when New Zealand won the America's Cup, spontaneous street parties erupted to welcome home 'the plucky little boat from down under'. Elsewhere, the waka features on the liveries of public transport, in corporate logos, and in New Zealand's largest art commission, at the new Auckland casino. The waka has become a potent symbol of NewZealand's new multiculturalism, a craft of diverse peoples paddling in the same direction. Left Peter Robinson Untitled, 3.125% 1996 Wood, synthetic polymer paint, oil 180x180x30cm Collection: The artist Right Ani O'Neill Blessing the hat 1993