"TECHNO MAORI: MAORI ART IN THE DIGITAL AGE"
2001-09-28 until 2001-12-02
City Gallery Wellington, 360-Michael Hirschfeld Gallery
Wellington, , NZ

The effect of digital technology on contemporary art practise has beenexplored by at least two major international art museums (the Whitney andSan Francisco Modern) this year. Far away from the art world's physicalepicentres in Aotearoa New Zealand, the subject is being exploredspecifically in relation to the country's Maori artists, examining howindigenous identity continues to be expressed in an increasingly digitisedand globalised cultural setting.

Techno Maori - Maori Art in the Digital Age brings together work by aselection of contemporary Maori artists, expressing the diverse ways inwhich they are utilising or inspired by digital technology in their use oftraditional, modern and contemporary media. City Gallery Wellington andPataka Porirua Museum of Arts and Cultures will work in partnership,presenting the exhibition concurrently at the two venues. A CD-ROM willact as shared third 'virtual' exhibition space binding together the twophysical spaces of the exhibition.

A key component of this exhibition is considering how new ideas in Maoriart relate to, extend or originate in custom and tradition. Just as, whenEuropean technology and materials first arrived in Aotearoa, our ancestorsembraced and acculturated them, says guest co-curator JonathanMané-Wheoki, just as their descendants embraced and acculturated theartforms, materials and techniques of western modernism; so a newgeneration of Maori artists is utilising digital media.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for New Zealand

Other Important Exhibitions in Wellington