OFF THE WALL (2014)
Axe Neo 7, Gatineau
A performance in response to Lisa Reihana's work in Pursuit of Venus (2013) Taking into consideration the land and space in which I was performing I wanted to acknowledge the battle and relationship between indigenous bodies, performing alongside whenua (earth)from behind the gallery.
Excerpt from Curatorial Essay for In Pursuit of Venus - written by Cora-Allan Wickliffe
"During the early 1800s, Jean-Gabriel Charvet and Joseph Dufour were among the many who pursued and promoted supposedly empirical and scientific methods of discovery. Charvet was a painter and designer who researched texts and images produced by travellers to the South Pacific region, including accounts from the journals of Captain James Cook and Louis de Bougainville. Without ever having visited the region, Charvet designed a classicizing depiction of the South Pacific and, in collaboration with entrepreneur and manufacturer Dufour, produced an elaborate panoramic wallpaper which was the first of its kind in France. Māori artist Lisa Reihana employs moving-image methods to deconstruct the narratives fabricated in Les Sauvages de la mer du Pacifique. Her artwork in Pursuit of Venus, a panoramic video made in response to Charvet and Dufour’s neoclassical wallpaper design, relocates and empowers Indigenous identity as it breaks down historically constructed representations. Reihana’s audiovisual installation initiates the dismantling of colonial notions of history, beauty and myths, positioning Reihana as the storyteller — which is a fundamental role from an Indigenous perspective, as Indigenous traditions and history were often passed down orally through story forms. In taking on this role, Reihana exposes dark, previously concealed stories that would not have been deemed suitable for adorning walls in colonial residences."
"During the early 1800s, Jean-Gabriel Charvet and Joseph Dufour were among the many who pursued and promoted supposedly empirical and scientific methods of discovery. Charvet was a painter and designer who researched texts and images produced by travellers to the South Pacific region, including accounts from the journals of Captain James Cook and Louis de Bougainville. Without ever having visited the region, Charvet designed a classicizing depiction of the South Pacific and, in collaboration with entrepreneur and manufacturer Dufour, produced an elaborate panoramic wallpaper which was the first of its kind in France. Māori artist Lisa Reihana employs moving-image methods to deconstruct the narratives fabricated in Les Sauvages de la mer du Pacifique. Her artwork in Pursuit of Venus, a panoramic video made in response to Charvet and Dufour’s neoclassical wallpaper design, relocates and empowers Indigenous identity as it breaks down historically constructed representations. Reihana’s audiovisual installation initiates the dismantling of colonial notions of history, beauty and myths, positioning Reihana as the storyteller — which is a fundamental role from an Indigenous perspective, as Indigenous traditions and history were often passed down orally through story forms. In taking on this role, Reihana exposes dark, previously concealed stories that would not have been deemed suitable for adorning walls in colonial residences."
Images by Karina Pawlikowski
