Parekowhai Artwork Opens In Wellington For One Day

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release: Wednesday 20 May 2009

Parekowhai Artwork Opens In Wellington, Closes One Day Sculpture Series

Michael Parekowhai, Yes We Are, 2009
Thursday 28 May 2009, 05.00 – 22.00

Multiple locations across Wellington
First location (5am): Interislander Marshalling Yard (view from SH1 driving south into city)
Final location (9pm): Mount Victoria lookout

Commissioned by Litmus Research Initiative, Massey University

Celebrated New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai will bring his unique blend of wit and seductive sculptural object-making to Wellington as he transports his newest public artwork around the city on Thursday 28 May.

Wellingtonians will remember Parekowhai for his towering inflatable rabbit, Cosmo, (shown as part of the Jim and Mary Barr Collection, City Gallery, 2008), The Big O.E Kombi van atop Te Papa, and his Pākāhā (the security guard), currently on show at the New Dowse. Described by one critic as “expanding the mind and seducing the eye”, Poriria-born Parekowhai began thinking about his contribution to the nationwide One Day Sculpture series as the final work – “a question mark to hang off the end”.

The artwork will appear across a sequence of locations in Wellington from 5am to 10pm on Thursday 28 May. The first location of the work will be the Interislander Marshalling Yard. This location is not accessible to the public but can be viewed from State Highway 1 driving south into the city. From approximately 8am, the work will appear at a variety of undisclosed locations throughout the day, arriving at its final location, the Mount Victoria lookout at 9pm.

Now based in Auckland, Parekowhai will travel with the sculpture and is keen for people to seek out the temporary artwork at the top of Mt Vic during its final hour (go to Lookout Road, north of the carpark). “9-10pm on Thursday 28 May will be the final hour of this year-long public art series. This is a great opportunity to be there in the final moments of an internationally acclaimed series and celebrate how all 27 participating artists have opened our eyes to the possibilities of public sculpture”, says Curatorial Director Claire Doherty.

The artist will discuss his approach to Yes We Are on Friday evening, 29 May, from 5.30pm at Massey University: Room 4B06, Block 4, entrance off Gates A, B or C, Wallace St, Mt Cook, Wellington. He will be joined in conversation by Ian Wedde and Massey’s David Cross.

Further details about the work will be revealed on the day of the project. See www.onedaysculpture.org.nz for more information.

Michael Parekowhai

Michael Parekowhai was born in Porirua and is of Nga-Ariki, Ngati Whakarongo and European decent. Parekowhai holds a masters degree from the University of Auckland School of Fine Arts and was awarded a New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate Award in 2001. He currently lives and works in Auckland.
Parekowhai uses satire in his works to address political and social issues. His practice engages with a range of European artists and movements, from Marcel Duchamp to Minimalism and Pop, using them as a frame in which to consider the place of Maori culture within pakeha society. Parekowhai is best known for striking, large-scale sculptural works that have a refined and seductive presence. His work often appropriates the forms of familiar things, such as toys and animals, placing them in intriguing relationships that purposely invite a wide variety of interpretations relevant to the cultural context of New Zealand and beyond.

Selected solo exhibitions include The Big O.E., Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, (2006), Michael Parekowhai: Consolation of philosophy Piko nei te matenga, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth (2004) and the acclaimed touring exhibition Patriot: Ten Guitars, Artspace, Auckland (1999). Selected group exhibitions include The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2006), High Tide: currents in contemporary New Zealand & Australian Art, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw (2006), Remember New Zealand, Sao Paulo Biennale (2004), The 13th Sydney Biennale (2002) and Flight Patterns, MOCA The Geffen Contemporary, Los Angles (2000).

One Day Sculpture – www.onedaysculpture.org.nz
One Day Sculpture is a series of temporary public artworks by leading New Zealand-based and international artists. It is first event of its kind to happen, both locally and internationally. The year-long series takes place across five cities in New Zealand and involves the creation of more than 20 new artworks, each of which will last no longer than 24 hours. The one-day artworks will all be located in the public domain – beyond conventional galleries or museums – and occur within their own discrete 24-hour period.

One Day Sculpture is led by the Litmus Research Initiative, Massey University with UK curator Claire Doherty and realised in partnership with arts organisations across New Zealand.

For more information on all the projects in the series, please see our website: www.onedaysculpture.org.nz

Acknowledgements
Michael Parekowhai Yes We Are is commissioned by Litmus Research Initiative, Massey University. Realised with generous funding support from the Wellington City Council Public Art Fund, Creative New Zealand, Massey University Foundation and Massey University College of Creative Arts.

One Day Sculpture is a Massey University College of Creative Arts, School of Fine Arts, Litmus Research Initiative.

ENDS

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