CoCA’s first exhibition something to smile about

CoCA’s first exhibition something to smile about

The Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA) Toi Moroki will re-launch at Valentine’s weekend with an exciting new vision and future for contemporary art in Christchurch.

‘Precarious Balance,’ the first exhibition in five years, is a group show by leading New Zealand international contemporary artists. The audience is invited to respond to the idea of artist as innovator and to reconsider the conventional definition of sculpture.

The exhibition includes precariously balanced objects and architectural references, giving a sense of playfulness. The works may also cause us to reflect on the social and physical rebuilding of Christchurch, and the broader global issues of social and political inequality.

But Paula Orrell, CoCA Director and Principal Curator, says underpinning a lot of the work is playfulness.

“Silliness, laughter, satire and fun provide an emotional equilibrium to the physical tension evident in the art works,” she says.

“We know visitors to the gallery will find plenty to make them think, exclaim, discuss and smile.”

Visitors will be encouraged to become an active part of at least one art work.

Well-known Austrian artist, Erwin Wurm’s exhibit called “Organisation of Love” is a ‘living sculpture’ inviting participants to pair up, and attempt to hold an assortment of plastic bottles filled with liquid in place in the space between their bodies.

“It’s a playful approach to the overarching theme of balance and precariousness, and it is going to be fun. The sculpture created can be easily disrupted by breathing in too sharply or giggling at the absurdity and imminent failure of it all,” says Ms Orrell.

‘Precarious Balance’ also features the work of some of New Zealand’s best known contemporary practitioners.
They include Joanna Langford, whose imaginative installations are made from found objects and second hand materials; John Ward Knox, known for bold work with a sense of mystery and delicacy; Peter Trevelyan, whose works merge sculpture and drawing; Regan Gentry whose humour and love of the absurd permeates his work; Richard Maloy, whose installations materialise ideas about the make-believe and the theatrical; Sione Faletau, whose exhibit is an endurance performance made into a video; and Christchurch’s own Sophie Bannan, who looks at the Christchurch Town Hall and her personal connection to it, through a film and in a series of earthenware pots created from the rubble of demolished buildings.

Other New Zealanders are Rob Hood, whose work expresses his concerns about the consequences of consumerism and its effects on youth and culture, Wayne Youle, who employs wit and humour in his multi-media works investigating notions of cultural identity; and Zina Swanson who investigates the relationship between humans and the natural world.

The international artists are Abigail Reynolds, Matt Calderwood, Catherine Yass, Claire Fontaine, Shaun Gladwell and Erwin Wurm.

Reynolds, from Cornwall, England, focuses on the delicate balance at play between place, belonging and identity; Belfast-born Matt Calderwood takes risks through a precarious balancing of objects; London-based Catherine Yass’s ‘High Wire’ explores the precarious situation of social housing; and Claire Fontaine, a Paris-based collective founded in 2004, has created a new work in neon signs called ‘Foreigners Everywhere.’ Implicit in its use as a public sign, the title has two meanings – it is an appeal to xenophobia and a reminder of the estrangement that comes with being foreign everywhere in a global society.

The combination of both national and international artists considering locally relevant themes will be an ongoing focus for CoCA.

“We are determined to offer Christchurch audiences different types of works to move, challenge and inspire them about society today and highlight the different ways artists make contemporary work globally.”

‘Precarious Balance’ will open at CoCA at 10am on Saturday February 13 and continue until May 8.
Throughout the opening day there will be a series of speakers discussing everything from the engineering challenges of the building itself, to the works in the exhibition.

ENDS

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