Soraya Rhofir. Crannog. Photographed by Didier Barroson. Installation; fabric, Prints on plastic sheets, wood and PMMA. 2013. La Tôlerie, Clermont-Ferrand, France
A French visual artist who has a penchant for Kiwiana, and whose work specialises in internet art, has been selected as the first recipient of Te Whare Hēra Wellington International Artist Residency for 2017.
During her Wellington residency, Soraya Rhofir will focus on pop culture in New Zealand through the lens of Kiwiana. Through distinctly New Zealand objects, souvenirs, and popular icons Ms Rhofir will explore the tacky, kitsch fantasies and underlying themes and philosophies in the imagery associated with Kiwi identity.
The residency organised by the cultural office of the French Embassy and run by Massey University’s Whiti o Rehua School of Art with Wellington City Council, will involve a number of artist-led public events culminating in an end of residency exhibition of new works in June.
Ms Rhofir will be based at Te Whare Hēra’s live-work studio, gallery, and apartment suite at the prow end of Wellington Waterfront’s Clyde Quay Wharf during her time in the capital.
Associate Professor Ann Shelton from the School of Art says as part of the post-internet movement within visual art (art created by artists who have grown up with the internet as an inescapable part of their lives and visual education), Ms Rhofir uses a “collagist approach” bringing together clip art, 16-bit video game graphics, banal and cliché images into both small scale and large immersive works.
Her installations of life size cardboard cuts clustered together have previously brought Miss Piggy face to face with the Venus de Milo, in riotous dioramas reminiscent of Hieronymous Bosch scenes composed via Google image search.
Now she is turning her attention to iconic Kiwi cultural motifs. In Ms Rhofir’s own words she uses popular imagery “beyond good and bad taste”. Her works pose questions of aesthetics, at our ideas of beauty and ugliness.
Ms Rhofir has had solo exhibitions at Les Eglises in the city of Chelles (2013) and at Parc Saint-Léger, in Pougues-les-Eaux (2012). She was short-listed for the 2010 Prix Ricard art prize for artists under 40 in Paris, and for the international short list at Present-Future Artissima Turin International Art Fair in 2014. Recently she has expanded into film work, acting as artistic director for independent American filmmaker Trent Harris’ latest film.
Ms Rhofir will give a public lecture about her creative practice, her ‘collagist approach’ and the notion of Kiwiana at Massey University, Pit Lecture Theatre on Thursday March 2 at 6pm.
The residency is supported by the French Embassy in New Zealand. Te Whare Hēra and French Artists is a special initiative enabling artists from France to participate in the Te Whare Hēra residency programme in 2016, 2017 and 2018.