Tiffany Singh 'A Collective Voice' at CoCA

CoCA is proud to present two major installations by Auckland-based artist Tiffany Singh, opening the 31st of May and running until the 5th of August.

Singh’s colourful, large-scale installation practice is heavily socially engaged, and the two works coming to CoCA, The Journey of a Million Miles Begins with One Step (2017) and OM MANI PADME HUM (2017) are influenced by the idea that art can inspire and encourage empathy and compassion.

Originally created for Headland Sculpture on the Gulf on Waiheke Island before heading to the Auckland Maritime Museum, Journey of a Million Miles is both an expansive installation and an oral history project, collecting and re-sharing personal stories of migration and resettlement in New Zealand. Taking over CoCA’s Mair Gallery, four intricately-decorated dinghies found abandoned on Waiheke act as sound shells projecting pre-collected stories of migration, with a fifth boat containing an interactive element in which the audience is invited to listen to and share their own migration stories. Tiffany Singh will also be inviting the people of Christchurch to contribute local stories of migration prior to the opening, to be included in the Christchurch iteration of this ever-evolving work. In what is a charged political context globally and nationally, by sharing these personal stories Singh hopes to encourage understanding and compassion across identities and experiences.

CoCA Director, Romy Willing, says “This exhibition’s gentle beauty belies the power it holds. It provides a literal voice to the migrant experience, using art as the vehicle by which it is heard. The simple gesture of sharing and hearing personal stories creates a space where it is possible for understanding and connection to occur and positive social change to find its beginnings. We are thrilled to show such a significant work, one that aims to support inclusion and collaboration in the Ōtautahi community.”

Taking over the North Galleries, OM MANI PADME HUM was originally commissioned by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery for their ‘Big Wall’ in 2017. An immense installation, OM MANI PADME HUM consists of over 1500 metres of silk ribbon hung to create an immersive colourful spectrum in the two contained North Voids. With hand-tuned fair trade bells adorning the bottom, each ribbon is printed with the Buddhist mantra ‘om mani padme hum’, referring to compassion and love for all things. The mantra was gifted to Singh for this work by her Buddhist teacher, Geshe Wangchen.

“Tiffany Singh’s practice is at the forefront of a global movement toward acknowledging a phenomenological connection between engagement in the arts and the promotion of healing and well-being. This acknowledgement is seeing governments pro-actively integrate the arts into healthcare and education at an institutional and national policy level. Tiffany’s show is social practice in action and must be experienced to understand the profound impact the arts can have on mental and social well-being” says Romy Willing.

Tiffany Singh has exhibited nationally and internationally including the Auckland Art Gallery, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and the 18th Sydney Biennale and has been awarded residencies and commissions in the USA, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Nepal and New Zealand’s McCahon Residency. Her social practice is grounded in her commitment to sustainable community outreach and cultural preservation, using her vibrant, participatory installations as a catalyst for community-building and well-being. Her work has been acknowledged by the Human Rights Commission with an award for Fly Me Up To Where You Are in 2013.

Also opening 31st May in the Ground Floor Gallery is a solo exhibition of Christchurch-based photographer Tim Veling’s images of change within the red zone, titled Vestiges.

For more information visit www.coca.org.nz

CoCA is proud to present two major installations by Auckland-based artist Tiffany Singh, opening the 31st of May and running until the 5th of August.

Singh’s colourful, large-scale installation practice is heavily socially engaged, and the two works coming to CoCA, The Journey of a Million Miles Begins with One Step (2017) and OM MANI PADME HUM (2017) are influenced by the idea that art can inspire and encourage empathy and compassion.

Originally created for Headland Sculpture on the Gulf on Waiheke Island before heading to the Auckland Maritime Museum, Journey of a Million Miles is both an expansive installation and an oral history project, collecting and re-sharing personal stories of migration and resettlement in New Zealand. Taking over CoCA’s Mair Gallery, four intricately-decorated dinghies found abandoned on Waiheke act as sound shells projecting pre-collected stories of migration, with a fifth boat containing an interactive element in which the audience is invited to listen to and share their own migration stories. Tiffany Singh will also be inviting the people of Christchurch to contribute local stories of migration prior to the opening, to be included in the Christchurch iteration of this ever-evolving work. In what is a charged political context globally and nationally, by sharing these personal stories Singh hopes to encourage understanding and compassion across identities and experiences.

CoCA Director, Romy Willing, says “This exhibition’s gentle beauty belies the power it holds. It provides a literal voice to the migrant experience, using art as the vehicle by which it is heard. The simple gesture of sharing and hearing personal stories creates a space where it is possible for understanding and connection to occur and positive social change to find its beginnings. We are thrilled to show such a significant work, one that aims to support inclusion and collaboration in the Ōtautahi community.”

Taking over the North Galleries, OM MANI PADME HUM was originally commissioned by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery for their ‘Big Wall’ in 2017. An immense installation, OM MANI PADME HUM consists of over 1500 metres of silk ribbon hung to create an immersive colourful spectrum in the two contained North Voids. With hand-tuned fair trade bells adorning the bottom, each ribbon is printed with the Buddhist mantra ‘om mani padme hum’, referring to compassion and love for all things. The mantra was gifted to Singh for this work by her Buddhist teacher, Geshe Wangchen.

“Tiffany Singh’s practice is at the forefront of a global movement toward acknowledging a phenomenological connection between engagement in the arts and the promotion of healing and well-being. This acknowledgement is seeing governments pro-actively integrate the arts into healthcare and education at an institutional and national policy level. Tiffany’s show is social practice in action and must be experienced to understand the profound impact the arts can have on mental and social well-being” says Romy Willing.

Tiffany Singh has exhibited nationally and internationally including the Auckland Art Gallery, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and the 18th Sydney Biennale and has been awarded residencies and commissions in the USA, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Nepal and New Zealand’s McCahon Residency. Her social practice is grounded in her commitment to sustainable community outreach and cultural preservation, using her vibrant, participatory installations as a catalyst for community-building and well-being. Her work has been acknowledged by the Human Rights Commission with an award for Fly Me Up To Where You Are in 2013.

Also opening 31st May in the Ground Floor Gallery is a solo exhibition of Christchurch-based photographer Tim Veling’s images of change within the red zone, titled Vestiges.

For more information visit www.coca.org.nz

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