I want to be where I am is an exhibition featuring recent work by Martha Atienza (Philippines), Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka (Ngā Puhi, Ngati Pakau, Waitaha) and the 1975 documentary directed by Geoff Steven Te Matakite O Aotearoa. Using the technological mobility of video, each artist seeks to articulate a sense of place beyond the visible borders of land and sea; to weave connections between past and present, the individual and the community, the spirit and the physical. Documenting performative and generative processes, both Atienza and Ruka ask what it means to be "here."
I want to be where I am is presented as part of the Artist Week leading up to the 2016 CIRCUIT symposium Phantom Topologies and is curated by George Clark and Mark Williams.
Artist biographies
Martha Atienza is a moving image-based artist whose work examines contemporary art as a tool for effecting social change and development. She is primarily focused on finding dignity for the undervalued, for the unnoticed, in the mundane. At the Engine Room she will present the installation My Navel is Buried in the Sea (2011) which focuses on the fishermen and seafarers from Bantayan Island, The Philippines. The film attempts to capture the significance and mystery of the sea to the millions of Filipinos who derive their living from it, thus giving shape to a reality that is rarely seen. Atienza's works have been exhibited internationally at various art spaces, galleries and video festivals, and she has was recently awarded the Ateneo Arts Award with studio Residency Grants in Liverpool, Melbourne, New York and Singapore. Martha Atienza's visit to New Zealand is supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka (Ngā Puhi, Ngati Pakau, Waitaha) is an artist whose practice reflects the inherent need for humans to have connection with nature, especially in urban environments. Ruka weaves with ancient Māori concepts and practices of kaitiakitanga, tikanga and wairuatanga to flow-through, enhance and complement new ideas in design, science and technology. Her video installations have shown at various art and film festivals around the world including opening the 5th International Indigenous Film Festival in Kathmandu Nepal.
Time and date
Opens 6pm Thurs 8 September, The Engine Room, Massey University
runs until 17 September
Martha Atienza's visit to New Zealand is made possible by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
