Exhibition: Rozana Lee | A Way of Being Free

Northart is excited to host a solo exhibition of highly accomplished contemporary artist Rozana Lee from 25 May - 2 July 2022, with an opening on Saturday 21 May, 2pm – 4pm.

Rozana Lee is of Indonesian-Chinese heritage. She moved to Aotearoa in 2010, and is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. She holds a Master of Fine Arts, with First Class Honours, from Elam, The University of Auckland (2018) and a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Auckland University of Technology (2015). Working across textile, moving image and painting, her work combines cultural elements form her birth country Indonesia, her Chinese ancestral heritage and her adopted home, Aotearoa New Zealand.

'A Way of Being Free' is part of Rozana Lee’s ongoing exploration that draws on ideas surrounding migration, belonging, and identity. This exhibition looks at identity that exists within sociocultural context alongside self-reflection from personal experiences.

It reflects on the fluidity and mobility in migrant identity: suggesting that this is not based on belonging to one single culture, but something that is able to be negotiated, partly detached, and expanding its connections with other cultures. An identity that embraces multiplicity and marginality as part of identity development: like a tree that is re-rooted in a community, adjusting its growth to the changing environments and its surroundings.

Image caption: Rozana Lee, 'Summer Rain' (detail), 2022, melted wax, ink, and acrylic on canvas, 1200 x 900mm