Gow Langsford To Transform Flagship Onehunga Gallery For Premiere Of Natalie Tozer’s Erotic Geologies

Gow Langsford is pleased to present a film by Auckland based multi-media artist Natalie Tozer. Erotic Geologies is a sci-fi parable that seeks knowledge from the underground. Shifting through an otherworldly landscape where rocky outcrops meet tumultuous skies, the setting of the film makes reference to post-earthquake Ōtautahi in Te Waipounamu and the Tongariro Crossing in Te Ika-a-Māui. The narrative follows protagonists Rangi and Liberté, characters inspired by both Māori mythologies surrounding the figures of Ranginui and Papatūānuku’s children, and Greek figures Deucalion and Pyrrha. Archaeology, time and kaitiakitanga are central to the work which merges a local, contemporary narrative with deep time and mythology.

The feeling of the film is one of constant movement. The camera circles and pans as the protagonists grapple with a geology that shifts, renews and reforms. Tozer is interested in cycles of renewal. She comments "The virtual world they exist in continually loops, promoting a natural, constant flow of decay and renewal. This is an often notable philosophical difference between a capitalist world view and an indigenous world view." Time becomes cyclical as opposed to linear. This also nods to the ‘one-take’ cinema tradition – a long continuous shot by a single camera from start to finish.

Technically, Erotic Geologies was created with green screen live-action, shot on a 6K Red Camera at 48fps to generate footage, which was then composited in a 3D world with local land features based on NASA geodata (such as Tongariro). The overall film runs on a 15-minute continuous loop. It includes Lidar scanned geometry of performers, public art and architecture including Marté Szirmay’s Smirnoff Centenary Sculpture, 1969 in Newmarket, Guy Ngan's bronze sculpture for the Newton Post Office, 1973 and Frances Hodgkins’ painting Still Life in front of Courtyard, 1930.

“For Erotic Geologies, we are reimagining the gallery space to fully immerse visitors in the film. This transformation of our purpose-built Onehunga gallery allows the audience to step into the world created by Natalie and experience something different outside of our usual exhibition programme.”
– Anna Jackson, Director, Gow Langsford

Previous iterations of the work, titled Deucalion & Pyrrha (2022) and An Alternative Archaeology (2021), were well received, with Deucalion & Pyrrha selected for the Sluice Biennial in Lisbon, Portugal in 2022.

An excerpt of the film can be viewed here.

Exhibition Details:

Erotic Geologies
Natalie Tozer
21st September – 5th October 2024
Opening Event: Saturday 21st September from 2-4pm
Gow Langsford Onehunga, 4 Princes Street, Onehunga, Auckland 1061, NZ
Gallery Hours: Thursday-Friday 10-5pm, Saturday 10-4pm. Monday-Wednesday by appointment only.

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