SHIGEYUKI KIHARA

Milford Galleries Dunedin18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 [email protected]

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

SHIGEYUKI KIHARAWhere do we come from?What are we? Where are we going?

16 March - 10 April 2013

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? series of 20 c-prints, sheets: 795 x 1040 mm each, printed images: 595 x 840 mm each, edition of 5

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? series of 20 c-prints, sheets: 795 x 1040 mm each, printed images: 595 x 840 mm each, edition of 5

German Monument, Mulinu’u (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 51

German Monument, Mulinu’u (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Roman Catholic Church, Apia (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 52

Roman Catholic Church, Apia (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Agelu i Tausi Catholic Church After Cyclone Evan, Mulivai Safata (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 53

Agelu i Tausi Catholic Church After Cyclone Evan, Mulivai Safata (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

After Cyclone Evan, Lelata (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 54

After Cyclone Evan, Lelata (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

St Mary’s School, Savalalo (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 55

St Mary’s School, Savalalo (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Aggie Grey’s Resort Casino, Mulifanua (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 56

Aggie Grey’s Resort Casino, Mulifanua (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Aquatic Centre, Tuanaimato (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 57

Aquatic Centre, Tuanaimato (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

8 Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)triptych, c-print, sheets: 795 x 1040 mm ea, images: 595 x 840 mm ea, edition of 5

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)triptych, c-print, sheets: 795 x 1040 mm ea, images: 595 x 840 mm ea, edition of 5

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)PART 1 OF 38

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)PART 1 OF 3

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)PART 2 OF 38

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)PART 2 OF 3

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)PART 3 OF 38

Piula Theological College, Lufilufi (2013)PART 3 OF 3

Fale Samoa, Satitoa (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 59

Fale Samoa, Satitoa (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Marist Brothers Old Pupil’s Association House After Cyclone Evan, Mulivai (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 510

Marist Brothers Old Pupil’s Association House After Cyclone Evan, Mulivai (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Mau Headquarters, Vaimoso (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 511

Mau Headquarters, Vaimoso (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Saleapaga Primary School After Tsunami Galu Afi, Saleapaga (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 512

Saleapaga Primary School After Tsunami Galu Afi, Saleapaga (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Old Courthouse, Apia (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 513

Old Courthouse, Apia (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Plantation, Lalomanu (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 514

Plantation, Lalomanu (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Fale Fono at Malae o Tiafau, Mulinu’u (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 515

Fale Fono at Malae o Tiafau, Mulinu’u (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

Departure, Faleolo International Airport (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 516

Departure, Faleolo International Airport (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

SNPF Plaza, Savalalo (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 517

SNPF Plaza, Savalalo (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

After Tsunami Galu Afi, Lalomanu (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 518

After Tsunami Galu Afi, Lalomanu (2013)c-print, sheet: 795 x 1040 mm, printed image: 595 x 840 mm, edition of 5

The title of Shigeyuki Kihara’s upcoming exhibition is lifted from a large-scale

painting by Paul Gauguin completed in 1897 shortly before he died in Tahiti.

Kihara uses these questions to frame her examination of Samoan culture and

society following the tsunami of 2009, last year’s celebration of the 50th

anniversary of Samoa’s independence and, most recently, the destruction

caused by Cyclone Evan.

Taking inspiration from a late 19th-century photograph, “Samoan Half Caste”,

by New Zealand photographer Thomas Andrew, Kihara dons a Victorian

mourning dress and re-visits a character first seen in her performance works

Taualuga: The Last Dance (2006); Siva in Motion (2012) and Galu Afi: Waves of

Fire (2012).

The settings chosen by Kihara for her photographs are pointed allusions to the

social, religious, economic and political issues the artist wishes to highlight.

Using extant architectural trappings of previous colonising powers as

backdrops, images such as the Old Apia Courthouse, Apia are loaded with

multiple histories. In addition to this, Kihara asks the viewer to consider the role

of neo-colonialism in present-day Samoa, using population drift (Departures,

Faleolo Airport) and economic influence (the Chinese-funded development

in Aquatic Centre, Tuanaimato) as pertinent examples.

Kihara turns her gaze onto the environmental destruction wrought in her

country over the past four years, revisiting the subject of her Wallace Award-

winning work Galu Afi. The artist’s images of a roofless schoolroom, a tattered

plantation and a picture-postcard beachfront are poignant reminders that

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

a tsunami’s personal and physical damage remains long after the media

coverage of such disasters has finished.

Throughout this suite of photographs, Kihara uses the stark outlines of her 19th

century taffeta gown as a vivid contrast to her choice of backdrops, be it the

rounded lines of the Fale Fono (Samoan Parliament buildings) or the

manicured gardens that were the site of the Mau headquarters. Her use of

strong shadows requires close, concentrated examination by the viewer and

the choice of black and white enhances the dense textures and geometries

of the subjects.

Referencing the staged photographic postcards of the ‘South Seas’, Kihara’s

lone figure stands as silent witness to scenes of political, historical and cultural

importance in present-day Samoa. She turns the camera on her country’s

colonial past, the impact of burgeoning globalisation, ideas of indigeneity

and the role of government in an independent Samoa. Kihara “unpacks the

myth” (1) of her country as an untouched Pacific paradise as seen through

the eyes of colonial powers and tourist photographs.

1. Artist statement, January 2013.

E X H I B I T I O N P R I C E S

All works from the edition are available individually

single works $4,000 each, triptych $12,000

framing quotes are available on request

Shigeyuki Kihara 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

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SHIGEYUKI KIHARA b. 1975, lives Auckland

Le Loimata o Apaula - Tears of Apaula (2004)

Working across a range of media, including photography, performance and video, Shigeyuki Kihara has built a comprehensive art and curatorial practice that examines gender roles, the (mis)representation of Pacific peoples and cultural practices within a colonial European framework, and the past, present and future societal issues seen in a colonial and post-colonial Pacific world. In 2012, Kihara’s practice has taken centre stage in New Zealand. Her video work Galu Afi:

Wave of Fire was the first multimedia artwork to ever receive the Wallace Arts Trust Paramount Award. Reinterpreting once more aspects of the Samoan taualaga dance form, Galu Afi is a lamentation for those lost in the 2009 tsunami in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. Art writer and judge, Warwick Brown spoke for the judges, saying “the moment we saw [Galu Afi] we were mesmerised. It's such a beautifully classic piece of work” (1) With the October 2nd announcement that she has been awarded one of three New Generation Awards from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, Kihara is firmly positioned as one of New Zealand’s and the Pacific’s most interesting and innovative artists.

“In the last ten years, Shigeyuki Kihara has built an impressive career as a

contemporary artist and curator, built around performance, film and

photography. Her work sits beyond traditional Western forms of classification

and is informed at a deep level by the emotional scars left on her cultures.” Mark Amery, Arts Foundation Award judge (2)

Within New Zealand, Kihara's work can be found in the public collections of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Auckland Art Gallery, the University of Auckland, Massey University, and the Waikato Museum of Art and History. International collections include the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Sydney Australia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney Australia; Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia; University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, U.K, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10831516 (Accessed 28/09/12) 2. Shigeyuki Kihara, Media Release. 27/09/12

Shigeyuki Kihara 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

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SHIGEYUKI KIHARA b. 1975, lives Auckland

EDUCATION

1995 Bachelor of Fashion Design, Wellington Polytechnic

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013 Undressing the Pacific, A mid-career survey exhibition, The Hocken, University of Otago, Dunedin

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Milford Galleries Dunedin

2008/9 Shigeyuki Kihara; Living Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA

2006 Vavau: Tales of Ancient Samoa, Gus Fisher Gallery, University of Auckland 2005 Fa‛a fafine: In a Manner of a Woman, Sherman Galleries, Sydney, Australia 2004 Vavau – Tales from Ancient Samoa, Bartley Nees Gallery, Wellington

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2012 New and Recent Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin HOME AKL, Auckland Art Gallery

2011 Presence: New Acquisitions and Works from the Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth

2009 ethKnowcentrix – Museums Inside the Artist, October Gallery, London, UK 2008 Hand in Hand, Plimsoll Gallery, Tasmania, Australia 2007 Le Folauga, Auckland Museum 2006-08 Pasifika Styles, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK

2004 Paradise Now? Contemporary Art from the Pacific, The Asia Society, New York

SELECTED CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2012 Culture for Sale, live performance and exhibition, commissioned by Campbelltown Arts

Centre and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, for Sydney Festival 2012 2010-12 Edge of Elsewhere, 3 year project commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian

Art, Sydney, Australia. Includes Bring Your Game: Hip Hop Summit, Talanoa: Walk the Talk

IV , Talanoa: Walk the Talk V

2010 Talanoa: Walk the Talk VI; commissioned by the 4th Auckland Triennial 2009 Living Room, commissioned by Auckland City Council, Auckland. Includes Talanoa: Walk

the Talk I & Talanoa: Walk the Talk II

2007 Measina Fa'afafine: Treasures from a Liminal Space, Artstation, Auckland

AWARDS

2013 Massey University Pasifika Arts Research Fellow awarded by the College of Creative Arts

in Wellington Aotearoa Niu Sila

2012 New Generation Award, Arts Foundation of New Zealand

Paramount Award Winner, 21st Annual Wallace Art Awards 2009 Creative New Zealand Pacific Innovation and Excellence Award 2003 Creative New Zealand Emerging Pacific Artist Award

COLLECTIONS

Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Hocken Library, University of Otago, Dunedin Gus Fisher Gallery, University of Auckland, Auckland

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth Massey University, Palmerston North Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Sydney, Australia Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Shigeyuki Kihara 2013 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

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Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa, New Caledonia Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2012 Were, Virginia, Dance of History and Loss, Art News, Summer 2012, pp 76-79

Gifford, Adam, Shigeyuki Kihara: A lament for the lost, The New Zealand Herald, 8 September 2012

2010 Wolf, Erica, Shigeyuki Kihara’s Fa’a fafine; In a Manner of a Woman: The Photographic

Theater of Cross-Cultural Encounter, The Journal of the Pacific Arts Association, Vol 10, No 2, pp 23-33

2009 Federico, Celeste, Gender & Identity: Samoa’s Narratives, Aesthetica, Dec/Jan 2009, Issue 26, pp 32-35

2006 Rosi, Pamela, Shigeyuki Kihara: Subverting dusky maidens and exotic tropes of Pacific

paradise, Art Asia Pacific, No. 51, pp 72–73 2005 Vivieaere, Jim, The self-effacement of Shigeyuki Kihara, Fa’a Fafine: In a Manner of a

Woman, catalogue essay, March–April 2005

My Samoan Girl (2005)