Exhibition
Peata Larkin AUAU
21 Feb - 29 March 2016
TOI Gallery, Pātaka Peata Larkin: AUAU_I REPEAT
'Auau' meaning repetition, recurring or frequently is a recurrent theme in Peata Larkin's practice that she demonstrates both visually and symbolically.
Larkin's work meshes broad-ranging references from traditional Māori weaving, to modernist geometries and DNA sequencing to the pixilation of digital images. Larkin’s attraction to repetition is paralleled by her fascination with the notion of ‘the other’ in opposing binary pairings such as indigenous/colonist, science/art, male/female or cultural traditions and cutting-edge technology.
The works in Auau present homages to the visual language of traditional Māori weaving realised with contemporary synthetic art materials and LED electronics. Beyond the immediate psychical tactility of paint she has pushed through a weave substrate or applied in translucent layers to lightboxes, Larkin’s interlayering of cultural incongruities create something fresh and poignant, which speak to how we flip between looking back and looking forward in actual and digital worlds.
