pahikara in support of
NO HEA KOE? KO WAI KOE?
Ans Westra Cuba St imagery, curated by Suzanne Tamaki & projected by Marcus McShane.
Location: Projecting throughout Cuba Street precinct
Date: Thursday Nov 21st + Thursday Nov 28th
Media: Facebook event
Collaborating with two of Wellington’s most prolific & unique creatives, Marcus McShane & Suzanne Tamaki, alongside the renowned Ans Westra collection, managed by Suite Gallery. This activation, aims to bring the imagery onto the streets from which they were taken, with the hope being to reconnect whānau of the subjects, with these treasured photos people in the images.
On the nights of Nov 21st & 28th, public can catch a glimpse of the iconic Ans Westra imagery as Marcus McShane & his bicycle powered projections wind their way through the Cuba St precinct, or they can diligently follow the bike to capture the entire presentation.
As the bike pedals through inner-city streets it will project the images, a snapshot in time, onto the second and third floors of the buildings it passes., Where possible images will be projected onto or near the sites that they were taken. The self driven projection will be accompanied by a soundtrack of karakia, waiata & good old fashion party songs.
Tamaki has selected a series of photographs by Ans Westra, of Māori in Wellington in the 1970’s/1980’s, currently on exhibition in Cuba Streets Suite Gallery. Alongside a public marketing campaign and a dedicated facebook gallery, this is a community campaign around Pōneke, seeking to find the identity of the people in the photographs and reconnect the images them with whānau and friends.
NO HEA KOE? Where are you from?
KO WAI KOE? Who are you?
Marcus McShane is one of New Zealand’s most prolific designers, having produced over 500 theatre designs and installation artworks since 2006. He has 24 national and international awards spanning visual art and design, specifically in the areas of theatre, fine arts, architecture, and museum design. He originally worked as a copywriter, so many of his works tend to revolve around the intersection of light and text. Marcus has a master’s degree in English Literature and Philosophy that he’s philosophical about, and his interests include finding sneaky ways to keep his emissions footprint low, growing vegetables, building bicycles, and reading things worth reading.
Suzanne Tamaki (Maniapoto, Tuhoe) is an artist and social provocateur who uses fashion and photography to create visual narratives that respond to cultural-politics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her works often investigate the nature of indigenous feminisms in the South Pacific, challenging the colonial gaze and Western ideas of nationhood within a bi-cultural nation. As an individual artist and as a member of Pacific Sisters and the SaVAge K’lub art collectives, Tamaki has exhibited works extensively throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.