Curated by Angela Rowe and featuring work by Alan Squires, Anna Harding, Ashleigh Zimmerman, Ellen Smith, Faye’Ala MacFarlane, Gemma Keene, Jason Povey and Marcel Allen. Multiplicities is a group exhibition including artists and photographers who have been invited to create new work in response to the concept of Multiplicities. The exhibition includes photographic prints, still and moving image, textiles and objects to convey ideas around temporal multiplicities, the play of light and illusion, inner worlds, the multiplicity of human experiences, shifts in identity and within relationships.
Featuring in this year's Auckland Festival of Photography, Multiplicities includes an artist talk and is proudly supported by Creative Practice.
All exhibition photography courtesy Ellen Smith.
Multiplicities
Curatorial essay by Angela Rowe, 2024
Far from being a simple technology to document ‘real life’, photography is well known as a tool for disruption of ideas of authenticity. Photography can challenge our senses, perception and understanding of how we operate in our worlds.
This exhibition shares ideas and perspectives of the artists and photographers who have responded to the concept of Multiplicities in their practice. We discuss ideas around expanding and flattening of time, of duplicates and copies, layered images created from collected moments, and zoom in on light and image, how this impacts our senses. Multiplicities discusses inner and outer landscapes, the selves we share with others and references the places we go inside.
Her voice inhabits your head via the ear buds, collapsing the distance between you. The phone call with your mother. Your foot falls are somewhere even further away and the waves wash over, curl back, and wash over again. Foot falls, greeting, reconnection. The morning ritual.
“Every morning, before the day starts, I walk from one end of our bay to the other with my dog Charlie. We walk together but inhabit different worlds. Ellie Smith.
At its core, photography thrives on multiplicities. From the initial negative to the reproduction of prints, it revels in the creation of duplicates and repetitions. Our lives are also made up of repetitive acts, walking, sleeping, cleaning, caring; activities constantly undone and redone. In this work by Ellie Smith daily rituals accumulate, forming layers of experiences and connections. Smith walks and re-walks the same path everyday, playfully documenting Charlie’s regular activities, observing the same outer landscape as she emerges from her inner world to face the day.
In Alan Squires’ images of Manaia, multiple exposures, layers, and temporal shifts intertwine. In Māori cosmology, Manaia is a composite being, embodying the head of a bird, the tail of a fish, and the body of a human. Geographically, Manaia is the core of an ancient volcano, jutting into the clouds. Squire's collection of diverse perspectives on Manaia mirrors the complexities of our own lives; our multiple roles, relationships and activities forming who we are and how we are. Shaping and complicating our story as time rolls on. Manaia holds many different meanings for many people, Squires’ Infinite Art Generation Machine (Human Input) invites us to reconfigure Manaia, manipulating his photographs to create a chunky 3D collage, much like an animated contact sheet.
If Squires’ Manaia images expand the Maunga and collapse geological time, Gemma Keene’s deeply personal approach to recording her daily activities delves into the entanglement of time and memory. Adding layers of anonymity and distance within the images while remaining physically close. Her work is a collection of experiences in the daily, sometimes mundane activities of care and attention within family relationships and friendship. Consolidated in single images, My Journal Entry could span days, weeks or months in one image. Like a physical manifestation of memory, it becomes harder to pull apart and recall fully, we are left with a trace of a moment or emotive response. My Journal Entry embodies complexity, weaving together personal stories, multiple emotions and contradictions, inviting you to look a little deeper into the puzzle.
Photography exists as both presence and absence, etched onto film, paper, or a data file. Working behind the lens we have the ability to freeze moments in time, solidifying or pausing the process of time passing. Techniques like double exposures, montages, and digital editing enhance this multiplicity, resulting in complex layers or repetition of a subject. In his exploration of temporal multiplicity, Marcel Allen uses these techniques to capture his subjects in different states or phases. This slippage expands and compresses timelines, long exposures distort and challenge our perception of movement. Objects or locations are depicted stretching and distorting, existing in multiple dimensions of time and space, blurring the lines between reality and imagination. These composite methods allow him to blend multiple elements and create an immersive experience that blurs the boundaries between reality and perception.
Exploring unusual fauna and flora that lives just beyond our visual perception, Faye’ala MacFarlane conjures a surreal and enigmatic interpretation of the bush at nightfall. In these low light conditions or when visibility is reduced, our brains may rely more heavily on pattern recognition, leading to instances of pareidolia where we perceive shapes or forms that aren't truly present. MacFarlane’s use of layering and manipulating photographic images challenges reality versus the imagined, presenting landscapes that are half-real and half-imagined.
The colour language of printing is at play in Jason Povey’s light boxes. Graphic images from 80s digital pop culture have been reduced into their component parts, in contrast with the smooth tones of traditional photography. Through his layered compositions and juxtaposed colours, Povey heightens the viewer's sensory experience, inviting them into a world of vibrant hues and dynamic rhythms. Playing with colour - light separations and employing repeating motifs, sequences, and rhythms, Povey creates variable compositions contained
in box frames. The lightboxes are hybrids of nostalgic 80s video game graphics and contemporary digital image making that pulsate with vitality and play, drawing viewers into a mesmerising dance of motion and light. The use of colour separations and pixel manipulation reflects the underlying processes that create digital images, which are now a dominant form of photography.
Our inner worlds are complex and multifaceted, they can be spaces of contradiction and sites of struggle. What would an inner landscape look like if we could fold it out into real world space? Deeply personal narratives trace the intricacies of grief and loss due to tfmr (termination for medical reasons) in Anna Harding’s multilayered self portrait. The gathered images become a way to hold together feelings around pregnancy and tfmr. By placing multiple self portraits gathered together, she offers a reference point for opening up dialogue around this personal complexity, a map of the tumultuous feelings she experiences. The work aims to challenge contradictions inherent in societal perceptions of abortion and motherhood.
Working with movement, water and light, Ashleigh Zimmerman's self portraiture navigates the perpetual holding pattern of infertility. Her portraiture offers a poignant reflection on the inner and outer complexities of her experience, resonating with themes of personal struggle and resilience. Zimmerman finds her own story and strength as she reenacts rongoā rituals and practices carried out to protect and strengthen wahine Maōri. Pouring herself into the confronting and challenging process, of hope, loss, hope, loss, and grief.
Harding and Zimmerman offer deeply personal insights into experiences of infertility, reproduction and motherhood. Their work courageously invites us to look in, not away.
Our visual landscape is saturated in images. Digital spaces are becoming more perplexing as the boundary between our ‘real world’ and the simulacrum we operate in online has become so porous. Generative images blur the line between reality and fiction, patterns repeat, expand and repeat again.
Photography has alway dealt in duplicates and copies, producing positives and negatives. Contemporary practitioners and current technology enable further manipulation and potential new ways of seeing, and provide new perspectives on familiar ideas.
In the exploration of multiplicities, photography becomes a conduit for personal stories, multiple emotions and complexities. From the entanglement of time and space to the interplay of presence and absence, these artists navigate the intricate layers of human
experience, inviting viewers to engage with the richness of visual storytelling. By embracing multiplicities, they challenge us to see the world, and ourselves, in new and complex ways.
Multiplicities is a group exhibition curated by Angela Rowe and featuring work by Alan Squires, Anna Harding, Ashleigh Zimmerman, Ellen Smith, Faye’Ala MacFarlane, Gemma Keene, Jason Povey and Marcel Allen.
The Shutter Room Gallery, Whangārei
Exhibition Dates: 7 - 29th June 2024 Opening 5pm - 7pm Friday 7th June 2024
Creative Practice is supported by
Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Regeneration Fund
From the artists
Time Slipping; Past Present Future
Marcel Allen
Things stretch and distort, seeming to simultaneously exist in multiple dimensions of time and space. In science fiction this notion of time slipping is born out of an idea that there is not a singular universe, but a multiverse where infinite variations of people and places exist. Everything, everywhere, all at once. Marcel Allen’s Time Slipping series creates a portal which connects the artist’s experience of space and time to the viewers.
Marcel is an artist and educator who works with lens based and digital media. He has worked in Film and Media Arts in Tāmaki Makaurau for many years. Brought up in Ngunguru, he now resides in Pakaraka near the Bay of Islands with his Whānau. He enjoys working with rangatahi and encouraging them to explore their creativity. His work often responds to people and place, is experiential in nature and requires active engagement or reflection from his audience to complete the creative process.
Marcel Allen
marcelallen79@gmail.com
021 02725274
Untitled
Anna Harding
Abortion. Loss. Birth. Grief. Pregnancy. Motherhood.
A mixture of concepts that typically aren't talked about in the same breath but can exist simultaneously within the same experience.
This work visually explores my experience of complexity, contradiction, shame, guilt and grief around having a termination for medical reasons (TFMR) - a type of pregnancy loss not often acknowledged and talked about. Having to make a choice when both options seem unimaginable. The isolation and not being able to tell people what happened. The fear of judgement. The grief of losing a wanted pregnancy. The anxiety of being pregnant again after loss.
This work is also part of my process of making peace with what happened and learning self-compassion and self-forgiveness.
Beyond personal exploration, I hope to extend a hand of understanding and solidarity to others who have walked this path and shine a light on something often not talked about.
Anna Harding
annaharding9@gmail.com
027 230 3879
My Journal Entry
Gemma Keene
My Journal Entry is a combination of manipulated images arranged together to make one cohesive piece. These pieces were made because of a need to create and an excessive number of photos. Working with my Art Therapist, she advised me to take time out of each day to create something. So, this process is much like a bullet journal to me, not just capturing images from that day but also capturing memories I’ve been thinking about myself and our family together throughout the day. These pieces are a personal exploration of my life and memories, as well as being important for my mental health.
Gemma Keene
gemmakeenephotodesign@gmail.com
0276181995
Paredolia
Faye'Ala MacFarlane
Pareidolia - ' the ability to see shapes or make pictures out of randomness'
This body of work explores unusual fauna and form - a surreal/enigmatic interpretation of the bush/forest at nightfall. When the light fades or when there is no light source, our perception of things can drastically change.
Faye'Ala MacFarlane
faye09@hotmail.co.nz
0212515380
Light boxes
Jason Povey
I call myself a graphic creator, negotiating the space between artist and designer. ‘Pop Culture’ is a central characteristic of my work, often designed to evoke a nostalgic response from the viewer. A firm believer in the Bauhaus ideal that good design should be for everyone, laser-cutting technology allows me the possibility of ‘mechanical reproduction’ and mass-production.
My background in graphic design and the print industry heavily influence the way I create. Geometric forms, halftone patterns and structured layouts are prevalent in my designs as well as a strong use of colour and text. Despite appearing flat on a page, multi-colour printing has a 3-dimensional structure. It’s a stack of colour layers, each interacting in different ways with those above and below. These lightboxes are similarly constructed using layers of transparent acrylic instead of paper, light instead of ink, and play with this colour language.
Influenced by 80’s video games, my lightboxes have a nostalgic quality, recalling the bright colours, bold sounds and iconic imagery of the time. Comparisons are drawn to printing technologies with low-res bitmap game graphics reflected in the large halftone patterns cut out of the acrylic slides. Designed as products, they use light and create movement, and can be read as stained glass windows or treasures (taonga) that change chromatically, creating a sense of awe and beauty.
Jason Povey
ajasoncreation@gmail.com
0211556928
Walk
Ellen Smith
Every morning, before the day starts, I walk from one end of our bay to the other with my dog Charlie. We walk together but inhabit different worlds.
Charlie patrols the perimeter of his territory - he has new smells to check out and to leave behind.
I am trying to extend the emptiness of sleep, hold off the ‘list of things-to-do’ and let the growing light, the cool breeze, the salt smell and the familiar skylines print their meanings on my day.
Reaching the end of the bay we turn, I put in my headphones to ring my mother, and follow the white, waving flag home.
Ellen (Ellie) Smith
ellie@ellensmith.co.nz
021 268 2597
Infinite Art Generation Machine (Human Input)
Alan Squires Photography
My journey as an artist began at the foot of Mt Manaia. The magnificence of Manaia is inescapable in Taurikura and it has been a constant source of inspiration for my work. As I delved into its rich geological history, myths, and legends, my affinity for it has only grown. From my perspective our feelings for a place or thing are influenced by the memories locked inside it. Our memories can be shared or personal and are formed over time - and they can be unlocked by something as simple as sharing a story or moving a block of wood.
My work is a collection of fractured landscapes, a unique way to move and show beyond the frame in a temporal way. The multiple layouts and images possible are inspired by Hockney’s “Joiners” but my aim here is to involve the viewer in the experience of creating work and in the process revive and recover memories of their own.
The camera is not just a tool, but a partner in the creative process. It allows me to record my interpretation of the world around me and I invite the viewer to be a part of this journey. Through my work, I strive to capture the essence of Manaia and share its story with the viewer. This piece, and it’s accompanying sketches, are a testament to the infinite possibilities of human creativity and the enduring beauty of our natural world.
This statement encapsulates my artistic journey, my inspirations, and the purpose behind my work. It is a reflection of my commitment to making art that resonates with people and celebrates the beauty of our shared heritage and landscape.
www.alansquiresgallery.co.nz (fine art)
www.alansquires.co.nz (commercial)
instagram@asquiz
facebook.com/alansquiresphotography
Studio 5/1 Rathbone Street
Whangarei, 0110
Kāhore he uri, he tangi
Ashleigh Zimmerman
This series is informed by my own experiences of loss and infertility. The intimate relationship wahine have with their body can often be a place of mamae. Te Ao Maori recognises the vital role that wahine and te whare tangata have in ensuring that whakapapa is protected. We are given tapu status and have a close relationship to Papatūānuku, the creator of all life. These images kōrero to those wahine struggling with this and the fear of being wharengaro, a ‘broken whare.’
Transient moments of light suggest the separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku that provided space for humanity to exist. The use of wai references the kurawaka from which Tāne formed Hineahuone from his mothers waters, the beginnings of humanity. The ripples of Tawhirimātea capture the hā, the life affirming breath, and the exhale release of long held grief.
Although manifesting life, these images make visible the whakama that can be experienced after loss and return through Te Pō to a state of Te Kore. Existing in a perpetual state of suspended animation.
Ki te wheiao, ki te ao mārama.
Ashleigh Zimmerman
Ngāi Tahu
Ashleigh Zimmerman
0278180221
Ashleighrule@gmail.com
Multiplicities Curator
Angela Rowe
Angela is a Multidisciplinary artist and practitioner working in installation, object and textile. Key themes in her creative practice circulate around care, attention, social and relational aesthetics. Her masters research, completed in 2020, included handmade blankets, performance, rituals and objects of care in domestic spaces. Her work has been exhibited in Auckland, Whangārei, Dunedin, Nelson, Whakatāne, Morrinsville, Waiheke, Wanaka and Wellington. She has delivered exhibition or performance projects in Auckland, Whangārei and Dunedin. Recently, work from her Stitched Selfies series has made finals or won art awards including The Wallace Awards 2020, Changing Threads 2021 and 2022, The Walker and Hall Waiheke Art Awards 2022, and the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award for Painting and Drawing in 2019 and 2023.
Her curatorial practice includes recent projects such as Cut with the kitchen knife, at Reyburn House Gallery and Wish you were here, at Yvonne Rust Gallery in 2023 with the art group Collective Practice. Multiplicities is the second of two group exhibitions at the Shutter Room Gallery and Collective funded by Creative Practice and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Regeneration Fund, with Figure and Ground, making meaning in the Anthropocene a Contemporary Photomontage Exhibition held in 2023.
Angela serves on the committee for Shutter Room Gallery and Collective, working collaboratively she is responsible for exhibition curation, planning, marketing, newsletter writing, as well as grants and funding writing.
Angela Rowe
021 707805