RICHARD ORJIS

Richard Orjis Paris is Burning

15 September - 10 October 2012

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 info@milfordhouse.co.nz

1. parisisburning (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

2. thecircularnatureofthings (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

3. inthatinstantwewerealive (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

4. fallingdiamonds (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

5. drippingingold (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

6. the-letter-i-never-wrote-you (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

7. stilltheskyisblue (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

8. impossibleprincess (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

9. Marie (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

10. deafsymphony (2012), unique photographic print, frame: 946 x 646 x 60 mm

Combining traditional photographic imagery with digital collages, the works in Richard Orjis’ Paris is Burning subvert any expectations of a singular visual text. Orjis manipulates black and white photographs taken or found while on residency in France, and finally adds an overlay of predominantly bejewelled images from the pages of glossy auction house catalogues.

Marie, with its Daliesque overtones, examines the social divisions (and delusions) in existence today, alluding as it does to that most well-known French figure of excess, Marie Antoinette. Her re-creation of Arcadian ‘country scenes’ on the grounds of Versailles, is well documented, and could not have been further from the dirty poverty of the French peasantry. Orjis presents his country farmhouse complete with weeds in the thatch and decay on the walls, and the sapphire eyes confront the viewer directly with a simultaneous vision of “decadence and de cay.”(1) The glittering facets and heightened colours of the gold and crystalline objects catch the eye at first, only later does the gaze take in the tonal contrast of the black and white photography. Divorced from its commercial context and the bodies it is meant to adorn, the jewellery trumpets a blatant message of conspicuous consumption and excess, especially noticeable against Orjis’ deserted farm and fields. Orjis’ ironic take on consumption devoid of necessity and consumption necessary for life is clearly seen in impossibleprincess: the ruby lips and pearly teeth cannot eat, they exist to be consumed, as do the rows of vegetables behind them.

Two works remain free from precious metals and stones: deafsymphony and inthatinstantwewerealive are studies of form, light and shadow. Orjis isolates sculptural details and by doing so gives them a life separated from their original context; they become organic forms twisting in space rather than mere architectural flourishes from a larger work.

Orjis extends his manipulation of context away from the purely physical images he has produced, as most of the titles of his works lead to random Tumblr sites.

Tumblr.com is a micro-blogging site that allows individuals to post images, videos and links in a scrapbook format; these can be accessed by others who may share content, ask questions, and place comments on the page.

Viewing Orjis’ artworks through this multimedia overlay allows the viewer to recontextualise them completely. The parallels between these ‘borrowed’ images and Orjis’ physical use of found imagery reinforces an idea of inter-connectivity. By choosing to activate the Tumblr links (eg: deafsymphony.tumblr.com), the viewer becomes complicit in the creation of the artwork as it is recreated each time they do so, as the site they find may have changed, or disappeared entirely.

1. Richard Orjis, Artist’s Statement, August, 2012

EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1

parisisburning (2012)

3,500

2

thecircularnatureofthings (2012)

3,500

3

inthatinstantwewerealive (2012)

3,500

4

fallingdiamonds (2012)

3,500

5

drippingingold (2012)

3,500

6

the-letter-i-never-wrote-you (2012)

3,500

7

stilltheskyisblue (2012)

3,500

8

impossibleprincess (2012)

3,500

9

Marie (2012)

3,500

10

deafsymphony (2012)

3,500

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

RICHARD ORJIS B. 1979, lives Auckland

Hope It's Not Too Late (2010)

"Orjis is the artist as pop philosopher, interested in blurring artistic genres and aesthetic categories." (1) “His work is designed to illustrate non-existent, shadowy social groups. In his own words: "I create ritualistic or cult-like imagery that deals with the conflict between humans and nature, nature being defined as environments, both physical and psychological, that are not created or controlled by humans. While natural landscapes can be sublime in their beauty, they are also places that can be dangerous, hostile and destructive. Furthermore, the night offers an historical stage for rituals to take place, as the blackness gives a sense of mystery and ambiguity that is consistent throughout my work.” (2) “I can see that it might seem like I’m working with lots of different things, but everything I do comes from the same place and is normally about the same concerns. For me, the work revolves around four main intersecting and fluid connections, that of nature, cult, myth and the gothic. Nature can be seen as beautiful and pure, and intrinsically good, but also as dangerous and destructive, a spectacle of the devourers and the devoured. This tense relationship of attraction and repulsion feeds into my practice. I explore notions of beauty laced with an undercurrent of ugliness, or vice versa.” (3) “My work sits itself within the framework of the gothic. Just as society seeks to sanitize nature, many human emotions are repressed in the on going process of civilisation. The gothic sensibility explores this dark underbelly, seeking to access the sublime through dark beauty, melancholy, lust, death fear and violence.

I seek to connect contemporary culture with antiquity, the gothic psych surfaces in many different forms in art and culture throughout history. The gothic is present in contemporary culture in the form of heavy metal music, video games, horror and science fiction movies.” (4) Richard Orjis was born in Whanganui in 1979, and lives and works in Auckland. He is a multimedia artist, utilising photography, paint, sculpture and performance. Orjis completed his Master of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 2006 having previously earned a BVA in 2001 at Auckland University of Technology. He has exhibited extensively, including exhibitions in New York, Basel, Miami, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Auckland.

1. David Eggleton, 'Dangerous Eye Candy', NZ Listener, 2010 2. Warwick Brown, 'Seen This Century', Godwit, 2009 3. Jason Lingard, ‘Richard Orjis’, None Magazine, 2007 4. Ibid

Richard Orjis 2012 CV P a g e |1

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

RICHARD ORJIS B. 1979, lives Auckland EDUCATION Master of Fine Arts, Elam, The University of Auckland, 2006 Bachelor of Visual Arts, AUT, Auckland, 2001 Certificate in Art & Design, AUT, Auckland, 1998

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2012

2011 2010

2009 2008

2007 2006 2005 2004

Paris is Burning, Milford Galleries Dunedin

By Quiet Volcanoes, Melanie Roger Gallery, Auckland Small Histories, Art Station, Auckland Follow You, Follow You, Snake Pit, Auckland Fields, McNamara Gallery, Whanganui A Garden, Milford Galleries Dunedin Grass Circle, Te Tuhi Center for the Arts, Auckland Silver Park, HSP, Christchurch Park, Public Art Lightbox Installation, Bledisloe Walkway, Auckland City Richard Orjis, Starkwhite Gallery, Auckland little black flower grow, in the sky, Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain YES, Te Tuhi Centre for Arts, Auckland, Richard Orjis, Starkwhite, Auckland Landslide, McNamara Gallery, Whanganui Welcome to the Jungle, The Physic Room, Christchurch My Empire of Dirt: Selected works on paper, Roger Williams Contemporary, Auckland, Dep_art_ment, Auckland Dep_art_ment, Auckland Richard Orjis, Galeria Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain Richard Orjis, Galeria Llucia Homs, Barcelona, Spain

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2012

2011

2010

2009

2008 2007

Small Works, milford galleries queenstown The Earl Street Journal (2011-2012), milford galleries queenstown Follow You, Follow You, Snake Pit, Auckland Material Motives, Milford Galleries Dunedin Animal Aesthetics, The Papakura Art Gallery, Auckland In Another Universe, The University of Waikato, Hamilton The Marvelous, Bartley & Company, Wellington MADRIDFOTO, Galeria Luis Adelantado, Palacio de Deportes de la Comunicad, Madrid, Spain PUTIPUTI: The flower in Contemporary Art, Hasting City Art Gallery, Hastings Floriferous, Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui The Enchanted Garden, Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki Recent: Ten Contemporary NZ Photographers, Tauranga Art Gallery Animal Farm: 4 Legs Good, Sargeant Gallery, Whanganui Flora: Growth Between Neighbours, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia Seen this Century, Judith Anderson Gallery, Hastings The Maui Destiny, The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatu, Nelson Vice, Luis Adelantado, Miami, USA Picnics and Revolutions, Roger Williams Contemporary, Auckland Richard Orjis / Todd Stratton, Roger Williams Contemporary, Auckland Art is 4 Lovers, Butterfly Net, Auckland Jewellery out of Context: an exhibition of New Zealand artists / curated by Dr Carole Sheperd and Peer Deckers, Object Space, Auckland Fat of the Land, Creative New Zealand, Auckland Asian at the Wheel, Gus Fisher Gallery, University of Auckland, Auckland

Richard Orjis 2012 CV P a g e |2

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2006

2005 2003

The New Situationists, City Gallery, Wellington The New Situationists, Canary Gallery, Auckland The Orchid Show, Mount Street, Auckland Arquivar Tormentas, Centro Galego De Arte Contemporanea, Santiago, Spain Summer Exhibition, Roger Williams Contemporary, Auckland Me, Me, Me, Room 103, Auckland Bring Your Caddy, Stanbeth House, Auckland In Faccia Al Mondo ‘Contemporary Portraits in Photography’, The Museum of Contemporary Art of Villa Croce, Genoa, Italy Angst, RARE, New York, USA Group Show, Galeria Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain

COLLECTIONS The Real Arts Road Show The Jenny Gibbs Collection, Auckland The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Madrid, Spain The Film Archive, Wellington The University of Auckland Collection, Auckland Wallace Trust Collection, Auckland

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2012 2010 2009

2008

2007

2006 2005 2004

2003

Brown, David Lyndon, Beautiful Scary: The Totemic Art of Richard Orjis, Art New Zealand, Number 142/Winter 2012, p56-59 Eggleton, David, Poisonous Eye Candy, NZ Listener, September 18th, 2010 Brown, Warwick, Seen This Century: 100 Contemporary New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Random House, 2009, p304–307 Real Art Trust Staff, Real Art Roadshow: The Book, Real Art Charitable Trust, 2009, p162–163 Serrat, Carlos, Contemporary Paganism, The Creator Studio, # 11 Rituals, April 2008, p4–13 Orjis, Richard Coal Choir, No Magazine, Issue 2 2008, p61–69 McNaughton, Harry, Richard Orjis, No. Magazine, Issue 1, March 2008, p18–19 Pickens, Robyn, Expressions of Contradictions, The Press, Christchurch, Wednesday, April 16, 2008, pD5 Battersby, Shandelle, Richard Orjis, Artists and Mud Fan, Time Out, The New Zealand Herald, May 17–23, 2007, p5 Chang, Lulu, The Garden of Unearthly Delight, Soma, Volume 21.4, May/June 2007, p30 Coney, Hamish, Future Schlock: An old fogey looks at the work of today’s yoof, Ideolog, #7, January – February 2007, p95 Hall, Oliver, International Achiever, Express, 25 April – 1 May 2007, p10–11 Hamilton, Summer, Auckland Art Fair 07, KiaOra, May 2007, p72 Laird, Tessa, Secrets of the Soil: Richard Orjis and his Empire of Dirt, White Fungus, Issue 8, 2007, p34–41 Lingard, Jason, Richard Orjis, Nothing Magazine, Issue 11 2007 Mudie, Ella, The Dark side: Richard Orjis, Dazed and Confused Aus/NZ, Volume 1 Issue 3 2007, p137 Orjis, Richard, Momento Mori, New Zealand Home & Entertaining, April/May 2006, p 62–69 Williams, Melinda, Hip to be Square, Sunday Life and View, Herald on Sunday, April 3–9, 2005, p6–8 Capdevilla, Marta, Up-State, Suite, 29, October 2004, p64 Mogutin, Slava, Anthony et Richard, TETU, No 88, April 2004, p34-35 Tabron, Delaney, Richard Orjis, Pavement, Summer 2004/2005, Issue 66, p43 Ventur, Conrad, NYC Photographers, Useless Magazine, Vol 1 No 1, Fall/Winter 2004, p46 Arevalo, Pilar, Narcissist, Artist or just Taking the Piss?, Oyster, Issue 43, December/January 2003, pp48–51 Northcross, Wayne, Razzle-Basel, Instinct, Vol 6 Issue 2, February 2003, p16 Suau, Christina, Richard Orjis, ELLE, Spain, No. 197, February, 2003, p72 Olveira, Manuel, A Story with a viewpoint, Arquivar Tormentas, Centro Galego De Arte Contemporanea, Santiago, Spain, pp27–31

Richard Orjis 2012 CV P a g e |3

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz