TULISI

CHRISTOPHER ULUTUPU

25 May - 15 June 2018

Hosted by the ANU School of Art and Design Gallery

Christopher Ulutupu says, “Postcolonialism is not a subject I have chosen to explore, rather, it is a reality that I have been born into. As a Samoan New Zealander I find myself automatically designated the position of ‘other’, and my image perpetually projected through the lens of the dominant culture.” Using his formidable skills as a video artist and set designer Ulutupu’s work attempts to negotiate space between cultures that avoids the exotic stereotypes attributed to the descendants of migrants from across Oceania. Tulisi or tourist, is the story of a visitor to the country he was born and raised in. Ulutupu’s perceptive, poignant and amusing digital video works challenge the romantic misconceptions that have developed around Pacific cultures, ironically, as a way of integrating them into New Zealand’s cultural landscape.

Reception: 6pm Thursday 24 May 2018
Exhibition: Friday 25 May - Friday 15 June 2018
Location: ANU School of Art and Design Gallery
A CCAS/ANU School of Art and Design Gallery collaboration

Image: Christopher Ulutupu Into the Arms of My Colonizer (2016) 16 min 22 sec video still. Courtesy of the artist.