Forgotten Space Remembered by James Voller

Forgotten spaces brought back to life by Wellington artist

After causing a stir with a series of public photographic installations throughout Christchurch, Wellington-based artists James Voller will exhibit the results with Forgotten Space Remembered at Toi Pōneke Gallery from 17 July.

Influenced by some of the latest public art movements such as the national One Day Sculpture series, where tens of artworks lasting only 24 hours took place around the country over the last year, James placed large photographs in various public settings throughout Christchurch. James says he was trying to “recharge” the unused sites and get passersby to engage with the site in a different way.

“So people will see large photos of the sites lining the gallery walls, and photos within photos” says James. “I’d like people to think about the dual nature of photos – what the photographs document, but also what they say to people in their form as photographs.”

A photographic installation at the back of the gallery will also feature in the exhibition. James says he’ll transform the gallery walls by completely covering them with photos of a suburban setting.

As well as this, he’ll run several workshops; some for school-aged children; one for WelTec students and another for the general public to come along and make collages out of photos. These works, particularly the school children’s, will be exhibited at the Toi Pōneke foyer during the last week of the exhibition. Interested people should phone Toi Pōneke Arts Centre on 385 1929 for dates and times.

James says he has been obsessed with cameras “for as long as he can remember”. He focussed on photography for Bachelor of Fine Arts at Cantebury University and he’s currently finishing a Masters in Photographic Superimposition through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He also teaches photography at Victoria University. James says he loves to combine teaching and working with people while exhibiting work.

“Fusing contemporary art ideas with community art in a gallery setting is a good way to dispel the so-called mysteries of ‘artspeak’,” he says. “I’ve noticed while working with schools, for example, the average pre-teen mind can easily process all kinds of ideas and be comfortable in their artistic expression – all this comes before adolescent insecurities. I’d love for people of all ages to be able to achieve this at the workshops.”

Forgotten Space Remembered opens on Friday 17 July and will run until 7 August at Toi Pōneke Gallery, 61 Abel Smith Street.

For further information, please contact:
Fiona Gunter-Firth, Toi Pōneke Manager, phone 803 8198 or 021 227 8198.

Event listed by Toi Poneke Art Centre

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