Aotearoa New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana’s first Australian survey show features a range of video and photographic works, including in Pursuit of Venus [infected], a reimagining of the 1805 wallpaper Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique. This colossal panoramic video is an interrogation of colonialism and cultural identity.

Frenchman Joseph Dufour designed the sophisticated 20-panel scenic wallpaper Les Sauvages “to please the eye and to excite the imagination,” inspired by Age of Enlightenment ideals. The artwork also reflected the popular fascination with the voyages of James Cook and Jean-François de Lapérouse.

While no less ravishing to look at, Reihana's version acknowledges the complexities of cultural identities and imperialism, and challenges the European gaze with a speculative twist that disrupts notions of beauty, authenticity, history and myth.

Join us for a free artist talk on Saturday 13 January, 1–2pm. This talk will be Auslan interpreted. No bookings required. 

"This ambitious, riveting animated sequence deserves to be recognised as one of the key artworks of recent years" The Times

in Pursuit of Venus [infected], 2015–17, Lisa Reihana: Emissaries, Biennale Arte 2017.

Photo: Michael Hall. Image courtesy of New Zealand at Venice.