Lisa Reihana: DigiRadiance: GOLD_LEAD_WOOD_COAL
Curator: Tobias Berger
2nd November, 2024 -30th November, 2024
Tai kwun
F Hall Studio
10 Hollywood Road
Central, Hong Kong
Tai Kwun is proud to present “DigiRadiance: GOLD_LEAD_WOOD_COAL“, an immersive digital exhibition on view from 2 to 30 November 2024 in F Hall Studio.
Featuring a newly commissioned multi-channel video installation produced by the acclaimed Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana, this exhibition, curated by Tobias Berger, brings together the far-flung islands of Aotearoa/New Zealand and Hong Kong.
Based on the moving yet tragic story of the sinking of SS Ventnor, the video immerses audiences in an extraordinary funeral procession from New Zealand to Hong Kong. The artist’s work draws on what is shared by these islands, including a strong maritime legacy and a history shaped by colonial forces—in a way following her distinctive blend of history and fiction in her large-scale video installation, in Pursuit of Venus [infected] (2015-17), when she represented New Zealand in the 2017 Venice Biennale.
In DigiRadiance: GOLD_LEAD_WOOD_COAL, Lisa Reihana explores issues surrounding foreign labor, longing, and displacement. The work takes us back to the late 1800s, shining light on the untold stories of Chinese gold miners who relocated to the Otago region on the South Island of New Zealand. Under tremendous hardship and severe living conditions, many died far away from their homeland and became “hungry ghosts.”
Delving into this important part of history, Reihana revisits the story of the SS Ventnor, which in 1902 was en route to Hong Kong and Canton carrying coal and 500 boxes with the remains of the Chinese gold miners. During a storm, the ship sank close to a Māori settlement south of Hokianga on the North Island of New Zealand, where the Māori found and gathered the lost remains and buried them ceremonially according to their customs.
About the Lisa Reihana
Born in 1964, in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and of Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tūteauru, and Ngāi Tūpoto descent, Lisa Reihana’s works mainly focus on colonialism and the representation of ethnic and gender minorities in various media. As a multidisciplinary artist, producer, and networker, her practice influenced the development of contemporary art and contemporary Māori art in her hometown. As part of a series of seminal exhibitions, she carved out a space in the visual arts for an expanded representation of Māori identity and self-expression.
Lisa Reihana: DigiRadiance: GOLD_LEAD_WOOD_COAL opens on the 2nd of November, 2024 until the 30th of November, 2024 at Tai kwun
©2024 Tai Kwun
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