Ahilapalapa Rands

Lift Off (3 screens in 1 installation demo) (2018)

3 min 25 secSingle channel / Digital Video / Colour / Sound

"The sound of a bellowing Hawaiian Ipu drum beat calls across the floor of Brisbane’s Institute of Modern Art. Turning a corner, you suddenly encounter a shimmering, hanging curtain of deep blue, aqua and silver tinsel. Looking adjacent reveals projected images of animated satellites. They jump, leap and gyrate to the beat of the master drumming teacher, the Kumu Hula. Eventually, the towers obliterate into pixels of digital confetti, until there are no more colonial intrusions left on the volcanic expanse of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea...Not only does Rands imagine Mauna Kea clear of telescopes, she imagines Hawaiian epistemologies—specifically that of hula—to be the powerful forces by which the telescopes are removed. Following in the footsteps of a suite of Indigenous futurist artists from Turtle Island to Hawaiʻi, Rands' animation uses traditional practices to imagine radical change."

Lana Lopesi

CIRCUIT is the
leading voice
for artist moving image
practice
in Aotearoa New Zealand,
distributing works,
critical review and
dialogues
which reflect our unique, contemporary
South Pacific context.