The Tomorrow People
Wendelien Bakker
Diva Blair
Jesse Bowling
Teghan Burt
Quishile Charan
Sam Clague
Hikalu Clarke
Claudia Dunes & Rainer Weston
Fresh and Fruity
William Linscott
Isabella Loudon
Theo Macdonald
Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall
Ammon Ngakuru
Christina Pataialii
Maddy Plimmer
Deborah Rundle
Tim Wagg
Daegan Wells
Aliyah Winter
Xun Cao
Yllwbro
curated by Christina Barton, Stephen Cleland and Simon Gennard
21 July – 01 October 2017
The Tomorrow People was an exercise in future-oriented thinking. The exhibition brought together a selection of works from an emerging generation of artists that offer urgent, resourceful and playful possibilities for navigating troubling times.
The Tomorrow People emerged from a set of provocations around politics and creative practice in the present. Rather than attempting to offer answers, the show and its accompanying public programme invited open-ended discussion around the potentials and limitations of artmaking today.
These questions included: how have three decades of neoliberal policy, financialised capitalism, and global economic crises shaped our horizons of possibility for individual and collective living in Aotearoa New Zealand? If the once utopian possibilities of the Internet now seem worn, what potential remains within our thoroughly networked present for the articulation, undermining and imagining of identities, the forging of new bonds, and the building of spaces of care, social justice and emergence? Can art provide a site for solidarity, world-making, and refuge in an increasingly volatile contemporary moment? And if so, who gets a stake in the creation and maintenance of this site, and how do we extend the invitation of art to those who have otherwise been ignored, belittled, and kept at the periphery?
The title of the exhibition was borrowed from the 1973 Thames Television series: ‘The Tomorrow People’. In the show, a group of adolescents find themselves endowed with special powers, including teleportation, telekinesis and telepathy. These teenagers represent the supposedly next stage of human evolution, and are, throughout the series, tasked with overcoming evil forces for the good of humanity. Though ‘low-budget’ in every sense, this coming-of-age tale provides a tentative framework for thinking through how a generation of artists who have inherited a fractured, often overwhelming world, might be especially well-disposed to use these very conditions to arrive at better futures, even if, as the programme clearly revealed, they only have the present as the ground for imaginative projection.
Together with the artists included in the exhibition, the show brought new voices to bear, with new writing by Eloise Callister-Baker, Casey Carsel, Matilda Fraser, James Hope, Ellie Lee-Duncan, Dilohana Lekamge, Francis McWhannell, Robyn Maree Pickens, Hugo Robinson, Hanahiva Rose, Kari Schmidt, and Balamohan Shingade, published to accompany the works and a lively public programme which featured three forums designed to expand on the questions raised by the exhibition.
Fresh and Fruity, Manifesto vol 1: Fresh and Fruity is a sexy new look, 2014/2017, printed poster, vinyl text. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Fresh and Fruity, Manifesto vol 1: Fresh and Fruity is a sexy new look, 2014/2017, printed poster, vinyl text. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Wendelien Bakker, Moon Deed in Concrete, 2016, concrete, paper; Swimming Pool, 2015, text printed on paper, framed. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Wendelien Bakker, Moon Deed in Concrete, 2016, concrete, paper. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Deborah Rundle, What Faith I Have, 2012/2017, vinyl. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Xun Cao, six photographs from Dick Head series, 2016–2017, inkjet on paper; and three photographs from Passion of Cut Sleeves series, 2016, inkjet on paper. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Teghan Burt, Substitute for Mortals, 2016, fabric, clothes. Private collection, Auckland. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Diva Blair, Should I Tell You What It Is Like, 2016, stop-motion video, sound, 2mins 55secs. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Tim Wagg, 1991, 2016, digital video, sound, 12mins, produced with support from ARTSPACE, Auckland and The Chartwell Trust. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Tim Wagg, video still from 1991, 2016, digital video, sound, 12mins, produced with support from ARTSPACE, Auckland and The Chartwell Trust. Courtesy of the artist.
Isabella Loudon, please water the sculptures, with care, 2017, concrete, sand, glass. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Hikalu Clarke, Choke Point, 2017, steel railing. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Hikalu Clarke, Choke Point, 2017, steel railing. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Ammon Ngakuru, A Shelter for Amnesic Relatives, 2017, installation with shelving and five paintings. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Maddy Plimmer, Box, Box, Box, 2017, embroidered overalls. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Jesse Bowling, Apple of My Eye, 2017, digital video, silent. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Sam Clague, from left to right: Bad, Really Sad, A Great Success, Terrific, 2017, cord, balloon, bog, nails, plaster, silicone, spray paint, tubing, and wire on calico; Hard Pop, 2016, oil and digitally manipulated photographic insert on board; Feature Wall (Whole Lotta Love in This House) , 2016, oil on board; Sundae Painter, 2016, oil and Duraseal on ply. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Left: Claudia Dunes & Rainer Weston, of other spaces (arch) , 2017, HD digital video on 32” display, vinyl, dolly, arm bracket. Courtesy of the artists; Right: William Linscott, XCIII, 2016, HD digital video, two-channel sound, 17mins 28secs, Music by Flinn Gendall. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Claudia Dunes & Rainer Weston, of other spaces (drape) , 2017, HD digital video on 32” display, vinyl, c-stand. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Aliyah Winter, Danny Boy, 2015, VHS transferred to digital video, sound, 3mins 8secs; Eli Jenkins’ Prayer, 2015, VHS transferred to digital video, sound, 2mins, 16secs. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Christopher Ulutupu, Into the Arms of My Colonizer, 2016, digital video, sound, 16mins 22secs. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Christina Pataialii, From left to right: Bite Fight – Mike Tyson, 2016; California Love – 2Pac, 2016; Black or White – Michael Jackson, 2016; My Cousin – Dwayne Johnson, 2016; Islands in the Stream – Kenny Rogers, 2016, acrylic, house paint and spray paint on canvas. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Quishile Charan, Temporary Vanua, 2016, cotton, textile ink, bamboo, rope. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Quishile Charan, Temporary Vanua, 2016, cotton, textile ink, bamboo, rope. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Daegan Wells, Bleached Terraces, 2017, stoneware, photograph, shelf. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall, detail view of International Foodcourt/Global Classic, 2016. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall, detail view of International Foodcourt/Global Classic, 2016. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Annie Mackenzie & Dave Marshall, detail view of International Foodcourt/Global Classic, 2016. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Yllwbro, Flowers of the Field III, 2017, mixed media; Te Tohu o Kōanga, 2017, plywood, baby zincalume, steel screws, panel pin nails, pine dowel, braided wire, Le Corbusier Polychromie acrylic, paua shell laminate; and Tipi Haere: Miss Wētā’s All-Terrain Caravan & Mobile Home, 2017, ‘MAN Road Hauler’ toy articulated truck and caravan, die cast metal, plastic, automotive spray paint, ‘Beehive’ matchbox labels, leaf litter, striker, copper wire. Courtesy of the artists and Mokopōpaki, Auckland. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Yllwbro, Te Tohu o Kōanga, 2017, plywood, baby zincalume, steel screws, panel pin nails, pine dowel, braided wire, Le Corbusier Polychromie acrylic, paua shell laminate; Courtesy of the artists and Mokopōpaki, Auckland. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Model dressed by Clara Chon for Blue Blank, The Tomorrow People exhibition opening, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, 21 July 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Model dressed by Clara Chon for Blue Blank, The Tomorrow People exhibition opening, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, 21 July 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews
Theo Macdonald, from left to right: I Assume David Bowie Has Different Coloured Eyes, 2016, digital video, silent, 9mins 24secs; I Assume David Bowie Runs in the Morning, 2016, digital video, sound, 41mins 21secs; I Assume David Bowie Eats Spaghetti Every Single Meal, 2016, digital video, sound, 4mins 5secs. Installation view, The Tomorrow People, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2017. Photo: Shaun Matthews