PEATA LARKIN by Milford Galleries

1. PEATA LARKIN, ENCODED PARE (White_2011)

acrylic on mesh on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 460 x 458 x 40 mm

2. PEATA LARKIN, ENCODED PARE (Black_2011)

acrylic on mesh on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 457 x 458 x 40 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, ENCODED PARE (Black 2011)

3. PEATA LARKIN, STREAMING WAIRUA (Black_2011) acrylic on mesh on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 457 x 457 x 40 mm

4. PEATA LARKIN, STREAMING WAIRUA (White_2011) acrylic on mesh on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 457 x 460 x 40 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, STREAMING WAIRUA (White 2011)

5. PEATA LARKIN, TIPARE FLOW (Black_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 773 x 773 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, TIPARE FLOW (Black 2011)

6. PEATA LARKIN, TIPARE FLOW (White_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 773 x 773 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, TIPARE FLOW (White 2011)

7. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU ABC (Black_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 773 x 773 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU ABC (Black 2011)

8 PEATA LARKIN, POUTAMA 101 (White 2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 773 x 773 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, POUTAMA 101 (White 2011)

9 PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI FLOW (Black 2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 1000 x 600 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI FLOW (Black 2011)

10 PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI FLOW (White 2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 1012 x 613 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI FLOW (White 2011)

11 PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI PIXELLED ( White 2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 1012 x 615 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI PIXELLED (White 2011)

12 PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI PIXELLED (Black 2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 1012 x 613 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, PATIKITIKI PIXELLED (Black 2011)

13. PEATA LARKIN, HEADSTRONG (Black_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 512 x 512 x 60 mm

14. PEATA LARKIN, HEADSTRONG (White_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 512 x 512 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, HEADSTRONG (Black 2011)

15. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 101 (White_2011) acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 512 x 512 x 60 mm

16. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 101 (Black_2011) acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 512 x 512 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 101 (White 2011)

17. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU SPIN (Black_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 512 x 512 x 60 mm

18. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU SPIN (White_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 512 x 512 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU SPIN (Black 2011)

19. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 010 (White_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 998 x 599 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 010 (White 2011)

20. PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 010 (Black_2011)

acrylic on mesh on plexiglass, frame (v x h x d): 998 x 599 x 60 mm

DETAI L VI EW PEATA LARKIN, KARU HAPUKU 010 (Black 2011)

In ‘ENCODED WHARE’, Peata Larkin uses paint rather than harakeke to create her own visual language that alludes to both traditional Tuhourangi symbolism and the coded data that underpins much of modern life.

Larkin’s works are vibrant and tactile; paint is carefully pushed through a woven mesh and further colour is then applied on the surface to create complex networks of patterns. Building on her past practice, Larkin has used clear plexiglass as a background to her patterned mesh. The transparency of this medium allows the shadow-play of weave and pattern to become an intrinsic part of the works, and they take on a sculptural quality which is further enhanced by the receding and advancing qualities of both colour and pattern. In ‘PATIKITIKI FLOW’, warp and weft have been manipulated so that patterns undulate across the surface.

The grid format Larkin employs references the textile traditions of tukutuku panels and Jacquard weaving, as well as the digital world, where images and meanings are fashioned from pixels and binary code. Individual letters, characters and commands are assigned a different binary number, eg: uppercase ‘A’ is represented by the digits 01000001. The titles of Larkin’s works have been deliberately left in uppercase to mirror the fact that she is using these particular binary translations as part of her works. The physical representation of zeroes and ones have the dual purpose of both conveying literal information – the names of the works – as well as becoming visual signs in and of themselves.

Duality pervades this body of work and goes far beyond looking at the digits of binary code. In many of the pieces the pixelated paint dots are black and white, red and green – opposites on the colour spectrum. Most works exist in both a black and a white version. The literal duality of Larkin’s medium highlights the metaphorical duality in which she is interested: traditional/modern narrations, symbolic/literal representations, light/dark metaphors. It is also interesting to consider the role of dark and light as a parallel to the symbolic nature of both absolute nothingness [0] and totality [1].

Just as the woven patterns on the wall of a wharenui narrate ancestral histories, or the source code for a web page formats what is seen on the computer screen, Larkin’s paintings contain their own narratives. The artist does not provide a key to her works; the viewer is left to decode Larkin’s language of colour, form and configuration and to decipher the stories contained within.

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

PEATA LARKIN

b. 1973, lives Auckland

PatikitikiConnectIII(2008)

Peata Larkin "has come up with an ingenious way to express her Maori culture and join the digital revolution, without having to either become the slave of the computer or be bound by traditional working methods. The result is art with international appeal, using the well-proven grid format, yet with a firm base in pre-European design concepts." (1)

Larkin explores "the phenomenology of light and colour, the plasticity of paint, as well as concepts of identity, history and systems used to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next...Larkin is interested in the tactile and textural potential of paint and works with a noisy, riotous combination of colours to form complex matrices constructed from blobs of paint that emphasise the works sculptural qualities." (2)

Larkin has pioneered a way of making which is unique. Acrylic paint is pushed through a weave substrate so that the works acquire sculptural characteristics. Individual dots of colour are presented in an abstract pattern (based on Maori weaving designs).

Peata Larkin was born in Rotorua (1973) and is of Tuhourangi and Tuwharetoa descent. She completed a Masters with RMIT University, Melbourne in 2007 and was previously a Graduate of Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University (2001-04). She has received a number of awards and scholarships including an RMIT University Scholarship for Excellence and Achievement in 2006 and also in this year Larkin was the recipient of Molly Morpeth Canaday Award. Her work is part of important collections both internationally and throughout New Zealand including The Memphis Museum of Fine Arts in USA. She recently featured in ‘Seen This Century’ a Collectors Guide by Warwick Brown, showcasing emerging New Zealand artists. Peata Larkin currently lives in Auckland.

1. Warwick Brown, Seen This Century, Godwit 2009

2. Virginia Were, 'Stairway to Heaven', Art News, Winter 2009

PEATA LARKIN

b. 1973, lives Auckland

The combined Pepeha of my Whakapapa The combined Pepeha of my Whakapapa The combined of my Whakapapa The combined of my Whakapapa: :: :

Ko Peata taku ingoa

Te Arawa te waka

Tarawera me Tongoriro me Tauhara nga maunga

Tarawera me Taupo me Rotorua nga awa

Ngati Whakaue me Ngati Tuwharetoa nga iwi

Ngati Hurunga te rangi me Ngati Tuhourangi me Ngati Tuwharetoa nga hapu Hurunga te rangi me Wahiao me Oruanui nga marae

EDUCATION

2007 MasterofFineArts,RMIT,MelbourneUniversity(NewZealandProgram)

2004 BachelorofFineArts,ElamSchoolofFineArts,UniversityofAuckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2011 ENCODED WHARE, MilfordGalleriesDunedin

2010 Woven In_Pixelled Out,Bartley&ArtCompany,Wellington Peata Larkin,PaulBaragwanath&Art,Auckland

2009 Tuhourangi Revival,MilfordGalleriesDunedin Between Worlds,TwoRooms,Auckland

2008 Patikitiki Connect,MilfordGalleries,Dunedin

2007 Peata Larkin, Final MFA Presentation,TwoRooms,Auckland I AM TUHOURANGI,COCA–CentreofContemporaryArt,Christchurch Tupunga>I<Evolution,MilfordGalleries,Dunedin

2006 Introspective Data 2006,EAGallery,Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2011 ‘TheEarlStreetJournal’,GroupExhibition,milfordgalleriesqueenstown 2010 ‘SmallPaintings’,Groupexhibition,TwoRooms,Auckland ‘SmallWorks’GroupExhibition,MilfordGalleriesDunedin ‘Bloom’GroupExhibition,milfordgalleriesqueenstown ‘XmasShow’,Groupexhibition,TwoRooms,Auckland 2008 ThreeDegreesSouth64zero3,Christchurch ‘Crosstalk’–GroupExhibition,TwoRooms,Auckland 2007 ‘Afterimage’-GroupExhibition,TwoRooms,Auckland 2005 Groupexhibition‘FineArt’,WaihekeArtGallery 2004 Groupexhibition‘Pntg404’ Mid-yearFinalElampaintingyear ElamBFAGraduationshow,Elam

2003-2004 Groupexhibition‘FloatingIslands’,WaihekeArtGallery 2003 Groupexhibition‘Colourhaus’–SpiralGallery,Auckland ‘Buddabing’–GullyLounge,Auckland ‘Refractions’–UrbanArthaus,Auckland

AWARDS

2011 WaikatoPaintingandPrintmakingArtAward,Hamilton 2010 FinalistWallaceArtAward

2007 MeritAwardNorsewearArt Award

2006 Finalist(2nd)MazdaEmergingArtistsAward RMITUniversityScholarshipRecipientforExcellenceandAchievementTrust WaikatoNationalContemporaryArtAwardfinalist Norsewearartawardfinalist WinnerofMollyMorpethCanadayArtAward

2005 WaihekeArtAwardfinalist

14thAnnualWallaceArtAwardfinalist(travellingexhibition) RotoruaArtists2005

TrustWaikatoNationalContemporaryArtAwardfinalist 2004 NorsewearArtAward,received‘specialmeritaward’ NationalDrawingCompetition,Artspace,Auckland MazdaArtAward,HiltonHotel,Auckland 2003 GoldwaterArtAwardfinalist,received‘meritaward’ MazdaArtAward,HiltonHotel,Auckland

COLLECTIONS

MemphisMuseumofFineArt

PatakaPoriruaMuseum&ArtGallery

WaikatoUniversity

MasseyUniversity

WallaceTrustCollection

Peata Larkin’s work is held in public and private collections throughout New Zealand and in Australia, UKDubaiandUSA.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2009 Were,Virginia,‘StairwaytoHeaven’,ArtNews,Winter2009,pg50-53

2009 Brown,Warwick,SeenThisCentury;100ContemporaryNZArtists,ACollectorsGuide, Godwit,Auckland.Pg228-231

Tarawera11(2009)