Auckland
Projects 2022: Aotearoa Made
Aotearoa Art Fair, The Cloud, 16-20 November
DON ABBOTT
During the Aotearoa Art Fair the Cloud, the fair's venue on the Auckland waterfront, proved itself to be one of the worst buildings in the country. No matter the season, no matter the weather, the ambient temperature in it is far from comfortable; the bitumen floor, built over the waters of the Waitematā, remains perpetually damp, sucking the spring out of every step you take. The only thing it has going for it is the white canvas roof, that lets in loads of natural light, helping the art inside look good to prospective buyers.
It is the same roof that interrupted my experience of each of this year's Projects at the art fair, each in a unique way that could not be envisaged by the building's planners. Curated by Micheal Do, Projects 2022: Aotearoa Made is a non-profit show showcasing the diversity of this country's contemporary practitioners. Located throughout and amongst the dealer booths in the Cloud and off-site, the Projects is a feature that has become part of the event's established lineup, alongside panel discussions, artist talks, a sculpture space and the inclusion of artist-run galleries, all of which offer variety and interest to a wide audience.
My first experience is in a dreamy luridly hued love seat, VR set on my head, phones over my ears, nicely blissed-out, enjoying Biljana Popovic's moonlit empty swimming pool, listening to but not quite focusing on her naturalistic, rambling monologue. Her soundtrack includes the noises of a car being driven—accelerating, indicating, gear-changing—taking me immediately to a warm, happy and intimate place. If this work is an offer of respite from the fair-being-a-fair intensity, it is accepted wholeheartedly. The arrival of a thunderstorm in the real world—announced by the roar of rain on the canvas roof—adds another level of fuzzy comfort—being driven, supine through a rainstorm—and confusion: is the rain real or just a sound effect? It brought irony too; the virtual swimming pool in front of my eyes is dry yet the real world is wet, and extremely so. The coup to this work comes when Sylvia, Popovic's friend who is operating the work in her absence, offers to make the sun come out, and it does, the shadows around the pool extending and shortening, the orb in the sky offering instant happiness. Untitled (Wet and Dry spaces for healing) is proof that virtual reality is very good at invoking real emotions.
With Miranda Bellamy and Amanda Fauteux have answered curator Micheal Do's premise—explore our shared understandings of land, geography, and national identity—by responding directly to the place they are. Their booth, a beautifully constructed surround made of recycled kahikatea, refers to the history of Queens Wharf (upon which the Cloud is built) as the site of the export of butter; sculptures made of butter were placed around the boxes the two artists built, reproducing with uncanny accuracy the nails, nuts, bolts, clasps, fittings and tools of the shipping and freight industries. The worn industrial patinas of the original and perhaps—an idea that again reflects the theatre of commerce taking place all around, and the performative aspects of selfpresentation that define how gallery booths at the art fair look and feel.
