andy leleisi'uao

Milford Galleries Dunedin18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 [email protected]

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

CHARLOTTE HANDYheaphy’s garden

Andy Leleisi’uaoThe World of Erodipolis

28th May - 22nd June 2011

ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Parts I

ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Parts I - V (2011)

1. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Part I (2011)

acrylic on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 505 x 405 x 33 mm

2. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Part II (2011)


3. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Part III (2011)


4. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Part IV (2011)


5. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Phelantis Part V (2011)


ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Parts I

ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Parts I - V (2011)

6. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Part I (2011)


7. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Part II (2011)


8. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Part III (2011)


9. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Part IV (2011)


10. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Erodipolis Part V (2011)


ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Parts I

ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Parts I - V (2011)

11. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Part I (2011)


12. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Part II (2011)


13. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Part III (2011)


14. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Part IV (2011)


15. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Cremorus Part V (2011)


ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Parts I

ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Parts I - V (2011)

16. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Part I (2011)


17. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Part II (2011)


18. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Part III (2011)


19. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Part IV (2011)


20. ANDY LELEISI'UAO, Oacarus Part V (2011)


Andy Leleisi’uao is unmistakably one of the most distinctive voices emerging in NZ art. His

works are masterfully choreographed, epic in scale and have a calligraphic quality that

unites the primitive power of hieroglyphs with the ambiguous character and social

narrative of contemporary cartoon.

A “vast number of references and readings” (1) abound in every work and yet for all of

the structural and narrative complexity, the presentation of perpetual endeavour and

humanistic dynamism, each work also attains visual simplicity and remarkable

sophistication. Leleisi’uao is engaged in an interior monologue – dream, myth, metaphor,

domestic circumstance – in which identity is revealed as being “both fragmented and

sequential.” (2)

How does one read or experience a Leleisi’uao painting? Some works (the “Oacarus”

series) have a multi-linear narrative and sequential composition. Others (such as the

“Erodipolis” series) establish vertically-sliced pictorial tableaux of mythic underwater life

and environmental discourse. Cultural interplay, corrupt behaviour, silhouetted figures –

half-human, half-animal – ghosts and spirits act out scenes of salvation or damnation.

Moral and spiritual conflict arise, limbs become aspirational symbols and the tools of

drama (the “Cremorus” series). Amongst all of this, a plurality of character with overlays

of illusion and allusion mix the messages up so that images of struggle emerge which are

individual and internalised whilst also indisputably universal in theme.

Stylistically Leleisi’uao has mastered a striking tonal and spatial dualism, building a

calligraphic quality by limiting his palette, eschewing volume completely and using the

narrative power of silhouette as a fundamental device yet when introducing colour using

this intuitively and suggestively and in this way bringing the viewer to witness the troubled

world of a rainbow people.

The “Oacarus” series enters the domestic world of our homes and a parade of the

mundane begins as a creation story. We are what we do and how we live. Leleisi’uao’s

pictorial virtuosity is equally evident in the “Phelantis” series where the weighting of the

composition is more fragmented and diagonal with abrupt alterations of scale

reminiscent of rock cave drawings. The atavistic and bestial cohabitate yet these are

about now and us. No painting by this remarkable artist can be limited by explanation or

interpreted solely by feel or knowledge or experience. Yes the works are ultimately

enigmatic but there are answers everywhere if one starts to ask questions and pays

attention to the constancy of what is revealed in the process and how powerfully this is

done.

1. Jamie Hanton, “Tension of Contrasts” Christchurch Press, August 6, 2010

2. David Khan, COCA Gallery, July 6, 2011

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

E X H I B I T I O N P R I C E L I S TE X H I B I T I O N P R I C E L I S TE X H I B I T I O N P R I C E L I S TE X H I B I T I O N P R I C E L I S T

1 - 5 Phelantis Part I - V (2011) 2,500 each

6 - 10 Erodipolis Part I - V (2011) 2,500 each

11 - 15 Cremorus Part I - V (2011) 2,500 each

16 - 20 Oacarus Part I - V (2011) 2,500 each

Andy Leleisi’uao 2011 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

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ANDY LELEISI’UAO lives Auckland

Pa'ceania Part 1 - II (2011)

“Leleisi’uao began his artistic career as a widely celebrated social commentator on Samoans living in

New Zealand; his paintings controversially exploring issues associated the Samoan diaspora. As he has

developed his style, he has begun to both internalize and universalize these themes, exploring

fantastical worlds and opening his art to a global audience.”(1)

“‘His work has always been confronting and controversial with a strong social concern to it providing a

window to the realities of life for Pacific people and particularly Samoan living in New Zealand. They

suffer the problems of the migrant worker and the social dislocation which creates social problems for

many. But he also highlights the issues of family violence and the oppressive and destructive roles of the

churches in Pacific communities. At times his work was raw and obvious, a screaming at injustices that

he saw. In these more recent works though the voice is more moderated and rather than a Pacific

voice the works have a more universal theme of social and moral dysfunction and alienation.” (2)

“Leleisi'uao's extraordinary art, which collides with the realities of fa'a Samoa in the 21st century rather

than dwelling among the lingering sundrenched images of Polynesia… deals head- on with these

processes and effects but on a truly epic scale, with huge canvases which take us on a journey filled

with confrontation, rich imagery and uncomfortable truths. What emerges from this Auckland-born

artist's imagination is a potent reflection of a cultural interplay as restless and ever-changing as the

Pacific Ocean itself.” (3)

Andy Leleisi’uao lives in Auckland. In 2000 he was the first recipient of AUT School of Art and Design

Pasifika Scholarship and gained a Master of Fine Arts with honours in 2002. He has received a number of

residencies including the Research Scholarship, at the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies,

University of Canterbury in 2008, Artist in Residence, BCA, Rarotonga, Cook Islands in 2009 and Artist in

Residence, McCahon House, Titirangi, Auckland in 2010. He has exhibited throughout in New Zealand

and has been involved in solo and group exhibitions in Australia, Rarotonga, Germany, Taiwan, and the

USA. His work is included in the permanent collections of Pataka Museum and Art Gallery, Te Papa

Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Chartwell Collection, and the Wallace Arts Trust

collection.

1. Kate Nicholson, ‘Art Rader Asia’, 2010

2. John Daly-Peoples, ‘National Business Review’, 2009

3. Christopher Moore, ‘The Press’, 2010


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ANDY LELEISI’UAO lives Auckland

EDUCATION

2002 MA in Art and Design, First Class Honours, AUT, Auckland SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2011 The World of Erodipolis, Milford Galleries Dunedin

Arytipidal, Blue Oyster, Dunedin

Ufological City, VOLTA, New York, USA

2010 Cryptid Illuminati, Whitespace, Auckland

Wandering Through Pandemonium Quiet, COCA Gallery, Christchurch

Andy Leleisi’uao, Thistle Hall, Wellington

Carousel of Cryptid Abanimals, Whitespace, Auckland

2009 Asefeka of the Unmalosa, Kips Gallery, Chelsea, New York, USA

Areatures of the Arctaur People, BCA, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Le Onoeva - Misunderstood Aitu, Whitespace, Auckland

2008 Andy Leleisi'uao, McCarthy Gallery, Auckland

Angipanis of the Abanimal People, Whitespace, Auckland

2007 Lost Kamoans of the Godly and Godless, Whitespace, Auckland

2006 The Ballad of a Cheeky Darkie, Te Tuhi - The Mark, Pakuranga, Auckland

Catch a Sparkling Spirit, Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

I Need to See Alien, Whitespace, Auckland

Empowered Wallflower, Whitespace, Auckland

We're Not Black (with I. Nikalo), Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

Cheeky Darkie, Whitespace, Auckland

2004 The Ballad of Tinou'amea and Pepe, Whitespace, Auckland

Dressed to Kill (with J.Ioane), Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

2003 Tribute to W Samoa (with N.Lela'ulu), Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

The Umu Collection of Titles, Whitespace, Auckland

2002 Minoi, Minoi Mai, Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

2001 My Samoan Accent, Artstation Gallery, Ponsonby, Auckland

The Brown Corner, Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

Seta Blue, Mangere People's Centre, Mangere, Manukau

Tired of Silence, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, Wellington

2000 Polynesian Grotesques, Muka Studio, Ponsonby, Auckland

Crashed Presbyterian, Te Taumata Art Gallery, Auckland

1999 Patterns of My Lavalava, Ilam University, Christchurch

1998 Furious (with G. Hookey), Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, Australia

The Brownest Dawn, The Pumphouse, Takapuna, Auckland

1997 Selected Works, Pakuranga Cultural Centre, Pakuranga, Manukau

Waking Up To My Polynesian Spine, Aotea Centre, Auckland

1996 Selected Works, Aotea Centre, Auckland Central, Auckland

1995 Selected Works, Manurewa Nathan Homestead, Manukau

Selected Works, Papatoetoe Library, Manukau

Early Escapades, Mangere Community Arts Centre, Manukau

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2011 CURRENT, October Gallery, London, England

Pacific Currents, Waiheke Community Art Gallery, Auckland

2010 Team McMillan BMW Bonnet Awards, Newmarket, Auckland

Living Doll, Quiqcorp, Central Christchurch

Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art, COCA, Christchurch

Aids Awareness, Bone and Art Gallery, Central Christchurch

Manuia, Native American Community House, New York, USA

TAV Air Group Exhibition, Taipei, Taiwan


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2009 My True Love Gave To Me…, Whitespace, Ponsonby, Auckland

ROAR! Mince Pies, ROAR! Gallery, Wellington

Art Asia/Scope International Contemporary Art, Chelsea, New York, USA

Travelling Exhibition, New Dowse Museum, Lower Hutt, Wellington

James Wallace Awards Selected Finalists, BNZ Gallery, Aotea Square, Auckland

Queer Takes, Quiqcorp Gallery, Central Christchurch

Take 40, Fresh Gallery, Otara, Auckland

2008 Anon Drawings No 9 show, Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

Axis, Selected Works from MCC Art Collection, Manukau City

Le Folauga 2, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan

Bite Me!, Our City O-Tautahi, Central Christchurch

Samoa Contemporary, Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga

James Wallace Awards Selected Finalists, Aotea Square, The Edge, Auckland

Samoa Contemporary, Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui

The Works, Gallery De Novo, Dunedin

Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art, COCA, Christchurch

Artists for Save our Water, NG Gallery, Christchurch

The Artist Room, Whitespace, Auckland

Samoa Contemporary, Pataka, Museum of Arts and Cultures, Wellington

Dateline Returns, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Palmerston North

Political World, Whitespace, Auckland

Los Angeles Art Show with Whitespace, Los Angeles, USA

2007 Date Line, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany

Scriptures from the West, Beachcomber Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Life According to Art, Waikato Museum, Hamilton

Le Foulaga, The Past Coming Forward, Auckland Museum, Auckland

2006 Relations Indigenous Dialogue Exhibition, IAIA Museum Santa Fe, New Mexico

Works on Paper, COCA, Christchurch Central, Christchurch

2005 Inaugural Auckland Art Fair with Whitespace, Britomart Events Pavilion, Auckland

2004 Weird Names for Girls, Platform01, Hamilton

2003 Another Day in Paradise, The Den, Auckland Central, Auckland

Six Pacific Artists, Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

20/20 Sight Spacific, COCA, Christchurch Central, Christchurch

Pacific Notions, Whitespace, Auckland

2002 Tasina Studios, Whenuapai, Auckland

Pacific Notions, Rozelle, Sydney, Australia

Pacific Notions, Columbia, New York, USA

Cross Currents, Lane Gallery, Auckland

South Pacific, Waiheke Island, Auckland

2001 Out of the Blue, Hawkes Bay, Hastings

2000 Sway, MA Group Show, AUT, Auckland

Go Home You Deserve To Die Samoa, AUT, Auckland

Island Crossings, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

1999 As Is/Where Is, Mangere Arts Centre, Mangere, Auckland

1998 A Sea Change, Olympic Arts Festival, Sydney, Australia

Fireworks, Aotea Centre, Auckland Central, Auckland

Testing Traditions, Aotea Centre, Auckland Central, Auckland

Group Showing, Kamo Cafe, Auckland Central, Auckland

1997 Out of the Blue, Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

Tautai Exhibition, Outreach Centre, Howick, Manukau

Romance of the Mask, Uxbridge Centre, Howick, Manukau

Searching, The Pumphouse, Takapuna, Auckland

From Here to There, Manukau City Chambers, Manukau

Dots on the Blue, Pakuranga Cultural Centre, Auckland

1996 Tokoroa Art Awards, Tokoroa, Waikato

The Seventh Pacific Festival of Arts, Apia, Samoa

Mangere Bridge Art Exhibition, Mangere Bridge, Auckland


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The Pumphouse Art Awards, Takapuna, Auckland.

Pacific Dragons, Uxbridge Centre, Howick, Manukau

Pasifika with Tautai Trust, Western Springs, Auckland

1995 Beyond the Mask, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Auckland

The Pumphouse Awards, Takapuna, Auckland

1985 Auckland Star Secondary Schools Exhibitions, Auckland

SELECTED AWARDS

2012 Artist in Residence, Bridge Guard, Slovakia

2011 Funding from Creative New Zealand towards group exhibition in London, England

Wallace Arts Trust funding towards solo exhibition, New York, USA

2010 Artist in Residence, McCahon House, Titirangi, Auckland

Funding from Creative New Zealand to travel within Taiwan and to Hong Kong.

Artist in Residence, Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan

2009 Artist in Residence, BCA, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Kips Gallery, Chelsea, New York,

USA

2008 Funding from Creative New Zealand towards Le Onoeva - Misunderstood Aitu catalogue

Research Scholarship, Macmillan Brown Centre, Ilam University, Canterbury

2006 Charles Southwell Award, NZ Association of Rationalists and Humanists (INC)

2004 Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Whitespace, Auckland

Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Whitespace, Auckland

2002 MA in Art and Design, First Class Honours, AUT, Auckland

2001 Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Salamander Gallery, Christchurch

Powhiri opening for Seta Blue and mural, Mangere People's Centre, Manukau

Recipient of the James Wallace Postgraduate Exhibiting Scholarship

2000 Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Dowse Museum, Wellington

First recipient of AUT School of Art and Design Pasifika Scholarship

1999 Artist in Residence, Macmillan Brown Centre, Ilam University, Canterbury

1998 First recipient of Martin Hughes Interior Architects Travel Grant

Artist in Residence, Casula Powerhouse, Liverpool, Sydney Australia

Funding from the Australian Arts Council for a Residency in Sydney

1997 Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Pumphouse Gallery, Auckland

Certificate of Appreciation from Mayor of Manukau for supporting local arts

1996 Funding from Creative New Zealand to travel to the Sixth Festival of Arts in Samoa

1995 Merit Award, Pumphouse Art Awards, Pumphouse Gallery, Auckland

Funding from Creative New Zealand towards solo exhibition at Mangere Arts Centre, Manukau

1994 Artist in Residence, Mangere Community Arts Centre, Mangere

COLLECTIONS

Auckland Art Gallery, Toi o Tamaki Collection

Auckland University Collection

Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, Australia

Chartwell Trust Collection

Leo Benenson Collection

Museum of Ethnography, Frankfurt, Germany

Ilam University Collection, Canterbury

James Wallace Trust Collection

Manukau City Collection

Pacific Business Trust, Otahuhu, Auckland

Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, Wellington

Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2011 ‘Offbeat Discoveries and an Easygoing Vibe Give Volta a Positive Charge.’,

www.artinfo.com, 2011 <https://www.artinfo.com/news/story/37153/offbeat-discoveries-andan-

easygoing-vibe-give-volta-a-positive-charge/?page=1>


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2010 Moore, Christopher. The Press, July 17, 2010

Khan, David. COCA Galley, July 6, 2010

Arboleda, Yazmany. The Huffington Post, April 28, 2010

Nicholson, Kate. Art Rader Asia, April 12, 2010

Daly Peoples, John. National Business Review, April 12, 2010

2009 The Malo Conversations. Blackmail Press, Number 26, New Zealand Poets Online

Mine, Kamoan with K. Higgins. Space Between Journal, Hawai’i

Leleisi’uao, Andy, Captain Kirk in the South Pacific. Art News, Summer, pg 72

Brownson, Ron and Dr. P. Zeplin. Andy Leleisi’uao, Essays, Whitespace, Auckland

Akersten, Matt. Gaynewzealand.com, May 22, 2009

McNamara, T.J. The New Zealand Herald, April 11, 2009

Daly Peoples, John. National Business Review, 3 April, 2009

2008 Submission in FIKA, Pasefika Writers Group, Christchurch

The New Zealand Herald May 01, 2008 - T. J. McNamara:

2006 Coley, John. The Press, March 22, 2006

2005 Watson, Aron. ART ZONE, No.9, 2005

2004 Stevenson, Dr. Karen (Senior Lecturer in the School of Fine Arts). University of Canterbury No.1,

2003 Dunn, Michael. New Zealand Painting, A Concise History, 2003 ISBN 1869402979, 9781869402976 -

Brownson, Ron. Pacific Art Association Conference, Against the Grain: Counter-Images of Urban

Pacific Identity, 2003

Caroline Vercoe (MA, Auckland University Senior Lecturer). Pacific Art Association Conference,

Against the Grain: Counter-Images of Urban Pacific Identity (edited version), 2003

2002 (ed.) Sean Mallon and Pandora Fulimalo Pereira, Pacific Art Niu Sila, The Pacific Dimension of

Contemporary New Zealand Arts, 2002

Mellon, Sean. Samoan Art and Artists, O Measina a Samoa, 2002

Fitzgerald, Michael. TIME, April 8, 2002

Hynes, Victoria. The Sydney Morning Herald, March 22, 2002

2001 Mallon, Sean. ART ASIA PACIFIC, Issue Number 31, 2001

Wong, Gilbert. The New Zealand Herald, February 19, 2001

1999 The Chronicle, Thursday August 19, 1999

The Press, August 18, 1999

Johnstone, Jocelyn. The Christchurch Star, June 30, 1999

Community Arts Express, New South Wales, December, 1998

Brownson, Ron. Art New Zealand, Number 87, Winter, 1998

A Sea Change, The Sydney Morning Herald,1998

Gregg, Stacy. Sunday Star Times, July 5, 1998

Hansby, Bill. Manukau Courier, April 2, 1998

Carroll, Penelope. The New Zealand Herald, September 29, 1997

Manukau Courier, September 25, 1997

Page, Maud. ART ASIA PACIFIC, Issue Number 14, 1997

Rae, Bernadette, The New Zealand Herald, June 14, 1995

Erodipolis Part 1 – V (2011)

andy leleisi'uao

Documents

stretcher v x h x d

mmandy leleisiuao

erodipolis parts

cremorus parts

oacarus parts

phelantis parts

narrative complexity

ambiguous character