Ben Apfelbaum

PARADISE CAMP : A NEW EXHIBITION @ THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM

 

Powerhouse recently unveiled its latest exhibition, the Australian premiere of Paradise Camp by Yuki Kihara; co-commissioned  by Powerhouse and  Creative New Zealand, and curated by Professor Natalie King OAM.

In 2022, Paradise Camp garnered international acclaim at the Aotearoa New Zealand pavilion at the 59th La Biennale di Venezia. In 2023, the Australian premiere includes new works created by Kihara created in response to the Powerhouse Museum’s collection.

Yuki Kihari. Pic Ben Apfelbaum

An interdisciplinary artist of Japanese and Sāmoan descent, Yuki Kihara’s work interrogates and dismantles gender roles, (mis)representation and colonial legacies in the Pacific. She was the first Pasifika, Asian and Fa’afafine (Sāmoa’s ‘third gender’) artist to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at La Biennale di Venezia.

Yuki Kihara is currently undertaking a creative residency at the Powerhouse, creating new works in response to the museum’s collection. Kihara drew on the museum’s extensive collection of over 2,900 glass plate negatives by 19th Century Australian Photographer Charles Kerry to create the collage Gauguin Landscapes, melding photographs of shorelines and river scenes taken of the Sāmoan archipelago with landscape paintings by Gauguin.

“I am honoured to have taken up residence at the Powerhouse Museum and delve into the colonial photographs of Sāmoa and integrate these depictions into my fa’afafine utopia from a distinctly Pasifika perspective. I have started working with Harold Samu from the Sydney drag community towards a new commission in August, so stay tuned,” artist Yuki Kihara said.

Paradise Camp also comprises 12 photographs featuring a cast and crew of 100 people in Sāmoa, repurposing and upcycling Gauguin paintings. Reflecting on the injuries of colonialism and patriarchal structures by presenting a renewed worldview that is open, inclusive and humorous, each image has a depth of meaning related to the impact of colonialism on the Fa’afafine community and Western misconceptions of the Pacific.

The exhibition features First Impressions: Paul Gauguin, a five-part talk-show series comprising a group of Fa’afafine commenting wittily on select Gauguin paintings. ‘Vārchive’ – a term coined by Kihara that uses the Sāmoan concept of Vā to describe her relationship with her archive of research – includes personal research, rare books by 19th century explorers, colonial portraits, pamphlets, news items, a geological sculpture and activist material to provide never-before-seen visual links between Gauguin and Sāmoa.

“Following on from presenting Paradise Camp to 485,079 visitors at the Venice Biennale, it’s timely to exhibit Kihara’s ensemble exhibition in Sydney with its focus on some of the most urgent issues of our times including intersectionality, small island ecologies and environmental crises,” curator Professor Natalie King OAM said.

Professor Natalie King. Pic Ben  Apfelbaum

“Powerhouse is thrilled to present the Australian premiere of Paradise Camp. Yuki Kihara is an important international artist and this exhibition will not only connect audiences with the Powerhouse collection in new ways but connect us with the Pacific and its many social and cultural issues,” Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah said.

A companion publication has been published by Thames & Hudson, edited by Natalie King, featuring international commissions exploring the interwoven strands running through Kihara’s Paradise Camp with contributions from Coco Fusco, Patrick Flores and Ngahuia te Awekotuku.

Paradise Fair – 15 June 2023

Yuki Kihara and Matavai Pacific Cultural Arts present a curated Pasifika program featuring dance, music and talks. Presented by Powerhouse Late and VIVID.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Paradise Camp by Yuki Kihara
Curated by Professor Natalie King OAM
Powerhouse Ultimo
Showing until December 2023
Free, no registration required
https://www.maas.museum/event/paradise-camp-by-yuki-kihara/

Photography by Ben Apfelbaum

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborlang. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, United States, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication. To celebrate the opening of a permanent Photography Gallery, the State Library of New South Wales selected 400 shots from its archive of over 2,000,000 images to display in the new gallery. An image of mine was plucked out of the multi million photo archive to be part of the inaugural exhibition.