Exhibition Launch: The Slipping Away

Join us for a hīkoi and a hāngī to mark the opening of our next exhibition, The Slipping Away.

4pm - Hīkoi commences from Michael Parekowhai's The Lighthouse, Queens Wharf, Auckland led by Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei)

5.00pm - Ian Wedde remembers Bill Culbert

Just after 5pm - Hāngī served at Gus Fisher Gallery

4pm - 6pm - The Slipping Away exhibition open to the public for viewing

Gus Fisher Gallery stands on the city’s original shoreline. Overlooking Point Britomart, Shortland Street was the first main street in Auckland. The land beyond the gallery to the current shoreline is reclaimed wharf.

The exhibition’s title refers to a place in Official Bay called The Slipping Away / Te Hororoa which was the site of a historic tragedy when part of a pā slipped into the sea causing a number of people to perish. This was seen as a bad omen and was thought to foretell the later invasion of Ngāti Whātua from the North West. The exhibition’s multifaceted title therefore refers to a physical place, a historic tragedy and a possible warning of things to come.

The Slipping Away brings together pivotal works by leading artists to explore the duality of oceans and humankind. Conceived as an immersive experience, The Slipping Away will take visitors on a journey above and below the ocean through filmic interpretations of the deep sea and light-based installations of the water from above.

Acknowledging the ocean as a living breathing entity, we will forge important discussions on the health of our seas and enable discourse on the personhood of Moana. We aim to prompt pertinent conversations about sustainability, plastic pollution and rising sea levels at a point of criticality in 2019.

Our sincere thanks goes to the participating artists and lending institutions:
Superflex (Denmark), Bill Culbert (Aotearoa New Zealand), Joyce Campbell (Aotearoa New Zealand), Mata Aho Collective (Aotearoa New Zealand), Raewyn Martyn (Aotearoa New Zealand), Terry Urbahn (Aotearoa New Zealand), Christchurch Art Gallery, The University of Auckland Art Collection.
Offsite: Jonathan Kay (Aotearoa New Zealand)