Sekali pendatang, tetap pendatang
18.03.23-30.07.23
Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
https://www.teuru.org.nz/whats-on/calendar/rozana-lee-sekali-pendatang-tetap-pendatang/
Exhibition text:
This exhibition by Auckland-based artist Rozana Lee is titled after an Indonesian saying, which means ‘once an immigrant, always an immigrant’. Lee’s project draws from personal histories to consider the journeys and status of migrant communities in society globally, and particularly in relation to her own Chinese-Indonesian heritage.
Weaving together a range of visual and material languages, including batik textiles, rubbings, videos and archival material, Lee reflects on family history, the translation and adaptation of traditions, trade, colonisation, and the construction of national identity. This combination of video documentation and material traces links us to sites of loss and memory, creating connections to key events, including the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. These legacies connect us to our past and provide a path to the future.
Sekali pendatang, tetap pendatang asks whether ‘unity’ or ‘togetherness’ is possible in culturally, religiously, racially, and linguistically diverse communities. And whether interconnectedness or whanaungatanga and ‘belonging’ is possible without geographical or national attachments. Most importantly, it is about collective memory, intergenerational trauma, love and loss.
This exhibition is kindly supported by the Chartwell Trust.
All installation photos by Sam Hartnett, courtesy of Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery
18.03.23-30.07.23
Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
https://www.teuru.org.nz/whats-on/calendar/rozana-lee-sekali-pendatang-tetap-pendatang/
Exhibition text:
This exhibition by Auckland-based artist Rozana Lee is titled after an Indonesian saying, which means ‘once an immigrant, always an immigrant’. Lee’s project draws from personal histories to consider the journeys and status of migrant communities in society globally, and particularly in relation to her own Chinese-Indonesian heritage.
Weaving together a range of visual and material languages, including batik textiles, rubbings, videos and archival material, Lee reflects on family history, the translation and adaptation of traditions, trade, colonisation, and the construction of national identity. This combination of video documentation and material traces links us to sites of loss and memory, creating connections to key events, including the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. These legacies connect us to our past and provide a path to the future.
Sekali pendatang, tetap pendatang asks whether ‘unity’ or ‘togetherness’ is possible in culturally, religiously, racially, and linguistically diverse communities. And whether interconnectedness or whanaungatanga and ‘belonging’ is possible without geographical or national attachments. Most importantly, it is about collective memory, intergenerational trauma, love and loss.
This exhibition is kindly supported by the Chartwell Trust.
All installation photos by Sam Hartnett, courtesy of Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery
Cages of memories, 2022: Mega Mendung, Naga and Pintu Aceh, Lilies, stars, and quatrefoils, Birds of paradise and Pintu Aceh , Lotus and Kawung,
hot wax hand-drawing on silks, hand-dyed, powder coated steel frames.
Sekali pendatang, tetap pendatang, 2022,
high Definition single-channel video, 15.14 mins, colour, sound, and text, rear-projected onto 2004 tsunami-soiled fabric screen on powder-coated steel posts.
Shapes of love (1-5) 2022,
oil pastel rubbings on calico.
