Mary Curtis - Display

Mary Curtis gave a lecture about how the idea of display is important in her practice. Similar to Fran Allison, Curtis also collects everyday household materials and objects such as Tupperware, kitchen cutlery and also brooches. In an exhibition Curtis was working on, she used large glass cases to house her small works inside, where she experimented and played with the space. I think this was an interesting approach to displaying work, because naturally, when you think of a large glass case, you would assume that the work inside would be quite large. I really like the way Curtis used the glass case to play with space, because it causedme to wonder “why” which is a good thing for artists. You want people to actually think and question not only your artwork, but how it is displayed, instead of just looking at it and understanding it straight away.

I remember going to FRESH Gallery in Otara to see Leilani Kake’s work, Nga Hau e Wha - The Four Winds, and feeling “bombarded” with naked women floating in water. No matter where I turned, there was a woman right there, which meant I either had to close my eyes or just look. By displaying the works through a projector onto all four walls, it was like Leilani was forcing me to view her work, which impacted the way I viewed it greatly. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and seeing it as something explicit, it almost made me feel quite soothing, which sounds pretty wrong (which I’m not trying to imply). If it was displayed in a larger room with only one projector facing one wall, I guess I would have walked straight out, because I’ll feel like I can.