Leilani Kake

Today our class had another seminar with fellow lecturer and video installation artist Leilani Kake. They were two things about Kake works that interest me the most was her idea around identity and personality. Her works deals with ethnicity, culture and spirituality that are real factors behind all her work. I took note on her inspiration brainstorm and wanted to find out more about this people. She explained that she chose this specific people because of the concepts, ideas, techniques and personal issues her inspirational people possess.

Kake draws inspiration from Merata Mita, an important figure in the progression of Maori in the NZ film industry. Mita has been around the industry for 30 years was the director behind the documentary film "1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand" an important moment in NZ history of racial discrimination. She was also the first Maori women to write, direct and produce a film in NZ history with the 1988 Mauri. She referred to her mother, as one of her inspiration was great and identical to myself as I too see my mother as an inspiration behind my life and art. My thriving for success in art is all thanks to my mother who supported my change in personality from rugby to art and is a reason why I'm do something with art to make her proud.

Kake work that got my attention was "Kia Ora" because the idea and concept that she produced through her video installation was just simple and unique. She links her roots of being half Maori and half Cook Island through her ethnicity greeting language "Hello". Kia Ora is spelled and pronounced the same in both cultures because Maoris are descendants of Cook Islands which primarily makes them Polynesians but today society separate them from the rest of the Pacific Islands because the change of culture in New Zealand throughout the century being a develop European country.

I think Kake use the "Kia Ora" to bring the relationship between Maori and Cook Island closer and how closely related these two cultures are through art. Kake simple text of "Kia Ora" throughout her video is manipulating in size, width, length, mirroring, overlapping and repetition. These techniques that she has used on a simple text create patterns and shapes that are identical and relevant to the Pacific Island art patterns linking Maori culture to its very root of being in one with Polynesia.

http://ngahauewha.wordpress.com/artist-curator/

The "Rapid Change" exhibition @ the Te Tuhi Art Gallery in Pakuranga was very interesting and heart felting because the politics and society issues that impact on the urban household in specific cities around the globe. One work that was interesting was Gregory Holm & Matthew Radune "Ice House Detroit"(2010). A Photographer and Architect collaboration work dealing with the Detroit urban society problem with unemployment, debts and Unpaid mortgages due to the never stoping recession. Holm and Radune contribution work has gained local and global interest through the media and the art world. The chilled ice house was specifically staged and build around a suburban to symbolize homeowners house lost and wanted to help those homeless with their funding they got through the media coverage of their artwork.

http://www.tetuhi.org.nz/exhibitions/exhibitiondetails.php?id=100