ABAGo
A serious, interesting, radical intellectual visual culture about Europe
Artist Yuki Kihara in Camp Paradise attempts to challenge and destroy Samoa's colonial image through a radical camp aesthetic.
Installation view of Yuki Kihara: "Paradise Camp" at the New Zealand Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale.
The island of Samoa (Sāmoa) is often portrayed by outsiders as a tourist paradise: white sandy beaches, surrounded by palm trees, cocktail bars and a colourful "local life". Travel agencies and cruise ships peddle familiar and exotic and beautiful colonial tales, as exemplified by photos of newlyweds walking hand in hand along the tropical coastline.
This image of paradise, which is used to sell tourists the beauty of Samoa, is both charming and strongly heterosexual. But many aspects of Samoa's past and present can be left out of this business concept, such as the island's vulnerability to climate disasters, its heritage as a German and New Zealand colony, and the presence of a thriving LGBTQ+ community. In particular, the commercial narrative erases the story of the Fa'afafine – whose Samoan word means "in a woman's way" and refers to Samoa's transgender or third gender group (biologically male, but closer to female in gender roles).
The stories of these untold marginalized communities are presented in the work of artist Yuki Kihara (1974, an interdisciplinary artist of Japanese and Samoan descent). Yuki Kihara, a New Zealander of Samoan and Japanese descent, represented New Zealand at this year's Venice Biennale in her "Paradise Camp". Born on the island of Samoa, she moved to New Zealand as a teenager to study. For the past decade, she has lived and worked mainly in her hometown. Kihara was the first Samoan artist to represent New Zealand at the Venice Biennale – a diverse mix of Pacific, Asian and Fa'afafine.
Yuki Kihara attempts to challenge and destroy Samoa's colonial image through a radical camp aesthetic (as implied in the pavilion's title). The artist offers a new term to imagine the concept of Camp Paradise, defined by Pacific Native communities: "in-drag-enous." The installation revolves around a central lineup of a group of Samoan Fa'afafines, whom Kihara invites to pose for a series of 12 color-saturated photographs, each of which is a recreation of a particular painting by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). The creations were inspired by Savia's annual Fa'afafine beauty contest, of which Kihara served as a judge in 2017. These entertainment events are an expression of LGBTQ+ empowerment and also raise awareness of the issues facing the Fa'afafine community.
"Camp Paradise" by Yuki Kihara, one of the 12 photographs.
In the words of curator Natalie King (1966, Australia) in an accompanying hardcover publication, the New Zealand Pavilion is "an ensemble exhibition." The 12 photos are set in a specially designed geometric wallpaper and an enlarged photograph showing this paradisiacal beach destroyed in the 2009 tsunami. The walls also display colorful vintage travel posters, cruises promoting travel to the Pacific Islands, newspaper clippings, archival photographs and pamphlets, placing historical colonial images of Samoa Island and its people in these contexts.
Yuki Kihara, "Camp Paradise" site, decorative wallpaper and archival materials on the walls.
In addition, the installation includes a film consisting of a talk show series created by Yuki Kihara, in which a group of Fa'afafine people are commenting on Gauguin's paintings. The participants' comments were engaging, with scathing comments about each other's habits and appearances, while making deep and witty statements about the white male colonialist gaze that permeated Gauguin's work. Sadly, as pleasant as the film is, it suffers from some frustrating and incomplete subtitles, accompanied by a not loud enough sound from the venue, and an inaudible soundtrack, resulting in some elements being missed. The exhibition space at the Arsenale exhibition inevitably creates echoes, and the New Zealand Pavilion shares a room with the Albanian Pavilion, meaning the New Zealand Pavilion may not have as well a control over sound or atmosphere as they expected.
Yuki Kihara, "Camp Paradise" live, movie section.
Yuki Kihara paid particular attention to Gauguin's neutral figure paintings. At first glance, it seems unlikely that the artist would be interested in Gauguin's work; Gauguin never visited Samoa, but spent time in Tahiti and the Marquesas. However, as the accompanying publication explains, although Gauguin's work primarily refers to the Mahu Third Gender community in Tahiti, Kihara's extensive research shows that Gauguin was familiar with 19th-century Samoan imagery and incorporated elements from it into his work. For example, in Three Tahiti/Samo ans (After Gauguin, 2018–20), Kihara recreates Gauguin's 1899 painting Three Tahitians, with Kihara stressing that Gauguin apparently included a tattooed Samoan figure based on New Zealand businessman Thomas Andrew. 1873-1912) was created in a photograph taken in the 19th century.
Paul Gauguin, The Three Tahitians, 1899, oil on canvas.
In Gauguin's paintings, landscapes of exotic and stereotypical figures mask the violence of colonialism and its severe material impact on the Pacific islands, society and ecology. Kihara calls her practice an "upcycling" of Gauguin's paintings, reconstructing images in a reciprocal way that breaks the implicit gaze of white males in Gauguin's world; Fa'afafine models, shot by Fa'afafine photographers, together with other Fa'afafine audiences, make up the film. Through this process, Kihara creates a counter-narrative that is both familiar and subversive.
In the film, talk show footage is interspersed with footage of the Fa'afafine beauty pageant, commentary from news reports, and interviews with members of the Fa'afafine community who attended a climate change seminar organized by the Samoan Parliament. Yuki Hariki gave special consideration to how the Fa'afafine people were affected by natural disasters. Indigenous peoples around the world face the worst impacts of climate collapse, such as sea-level rise, as evidenced by the impact of the 2009 tsunami on the low-lying island nation of Samoa.
In the film, Fa'afafine people comment that some members of their community are rejected by their families, or struggle with homelessness or lack of support, which hinders their ability to deal with crises; they are more likely to face discrimination from aid organizations or shelters, or become refugees. However, the film also suggests ways to do so, such as building collaborative workshops where the Fa'afafine community can work with climate activists and planners to find common solutions.
Yuki Kihara concludes the exhibition in the form of a witty self-portrait in which she dresses up as Gauguin. Escalating Gauguin and his legacy through costumes and makeup, Kihara performances and parodies; The work is a microcosm of Kihara's approach to Samoa's colonial history and a suggestion for her radical alternative to "draining veins."
Yuki Kihara, "Paradise Camp" scene, self-portrait.
Exhibition Information:
Yuki Kihara: "Paradise Camp" continues to be exhibited at the 59th Venice Biennale until November 27. The pavilion is curated by Natalie King.
END .
This article is original by the public account [ABAGo] manager Happy Big Fat
不可转载和复制