Whitireia Artist in Residence ‘Country of Origin’ Exhibition

Whitireia Artist in Residence ‘Country of Origin’ Exhibition

Whitireia Artist in Residence, Yen-Yi Chen from Taiwan, is exhibiting her works titled Country of Origin at the Whitireia Porirua Library.

This exhibition will be a presentation of works that express Yen-Yi’s experience as an Asian New Zealand Artist in Residence.

I am developing my understanding of the different cultures that make-up New Zealand while exploring themes around difference expressions of culture from many perspectives said Yen-Yi.

“My work focuses on ideas about different lifestyles and culture shock, building upon work from my earlier residencies in BankART 1929 (Yokohama, Japan) 2005, Headlands Centre for the Arts (San Francisco, America) 2006 and S-AIR (Sapporo, Japan) 2007. These works were about the perceived view of living conditions and cultural similarities and the differences between Taiwan and other countries.

Her current works are the recordings/snapshots of her New Zealand experience and the appreciation of the cultural differences she has encountered. “They reveal as much about me as they do about my experience of this country.”

There are many difference stories behind the works; stories that evoke romantic feelings, the uncomfortableness of being ‘foreign’ as well as culture shock in entering a world so different to her own.

“I believe artists combine their souls with their seen world while creating. They memorise the seen world, manipulate, edit and reassemble it in order to process the experience. I make art work to understand and explain to myself; to understand myself is the artistic cure-all.”

The exhibition will run from 5-12 May in the Library at the Porirua campus from 8.30am-4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

ENDS

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