Pelago Returns
18 October 2011 - 23 October 2011
AV Room
Denise Batchelor and Tanya Ruka present moving image works that relate to pelago - the sea.
Denise Batchelor
Simply stated, Pelago translates as sea, a vast expanse of water with a boundless horizon. The works presented reference the sublime through both distance and proximity, repelling and engaging the viewer caught between two propositions of fear and seduction.
Batchelor’s seductive close ups reveal a strangeness and ineffability, imagery that is familiar yet strange, fragments of a landscape that offer a glimpse of the perceived infinite. These are quiet, contemplative images that have translated the division of the historical sublime into a connection between nature and humanity. In Blue and Kelpa foreground and background are removed, and the expanse of the sublime has been turned inward to reveal an inexplicability caught within the smallest detail.
Alissa West, 2011
From as far back as I can remember I have always been drawn to the sea. Much like a moth drawn to a flame, I am mesmerised by its ever-changing appearance and unpredictable moods.
As I glance a changing reflection in the micro world of Blue, I am reminded not only of the temporality of being but of the interconnectedness that exists between all living things.
Denise Batchelor, 2011
Denise completed a Masters in Fine Arts at Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design in 2011
Tanya Ruka
Primarily I am interested in Time & I am currently exploring the concepts of connection & duration. My work focuses on minor events in the natural world and their connection with major effects over extended duration.
In this work 'Storm' the camera observes the gestural lines and swirls as they are painted across the frame by the wind. The energy created is uncontainable within the frame; as we experience the wind & rain our view is unbalanced and grainy.
The natural world in full command; though silent the storm is amplified through the convergence of line and extended duration.
Tanya Ruka, 2011
Tanya recently graduated from Auckland University with a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree & is currently studying a Master of Art & Design at AUT.
