Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
Gate 3, Kelburn Parade
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

Group show

The Future is Unwritten

curated by Laura Preston

10 July 30 August 2009

Amit Charan, Fiona Connor, Narrow Gauge, William Hsu, Daniel Malone, Kate Newby, Martyn Reynolds, Kelvin Soh, Peter Trevelyan

The starting point for this exhibition project was an invitation to nine artists, designers, and writers to consider how art can engage, by means of its aesthetic forms and structures, in the political realities of this moment. The project became a series of exhibition proposals for embracing uncertainty, where structures and systems that we have come to know are being brought into focus and re-defined.

Using the university gallery as a site for proposition and interdisciplinary thinking as much as a place for display, the work presented both in the building and online questioned the political efficacy of contemporary art today and suggested other ways for art to claim space and being resourceful within it.

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Kate Newby, Falling over with surprise, 2009, carpet, sheets, oil, coffee stains, red wine, lip balm, wood, scaffolding, paint, ceramics. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Martyn Reynolds, Unthought things becoming thoughts, 2009, 11 actors, projected statements, open door. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Martyn Reynolds, Unthought things becoming thoughts, 2009, 11 actors, projected statements, open door. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

William Hsu, Moving Wellington's Faults: Kelburn deflation exercise, 2009, digital animation, deflation pole, altered map. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

William Hsu, Moving Wellington's Faults: Kelburn deflation exercise, 2009, digital animation, deflation pole, altered map. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Daniel Malone, Bricks break dialectics, 2009, performance, installation. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Daniel Malone, Bricks break dialectics, 2009, performance, installation. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Daniel Malone also known as Billy Apple (estab. 1997), With all kinds of delays, 2009, glass, video documentation. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Daniel Malone also known as Billy Apple (estab. 1997), With all kinds of delays, 2009, glass, video documentation. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Peter Trevelyan, As yet untitled, 2009, 20,000 0.5mm pencil leads. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Peter Trevelyan, As yet untitled, 2009, 20,000 0.5mm pencil leads. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Fiona Connor, A letter, office move, and book, 2009, the offices of Christina Barton, Anton Berndt, Laura Preston and Thomasin Sleigh; a letter; Victoria University of Wellington 2009 Guide to Enrolment. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Fiona Connor, A letter, office move, and book, 2009, the offices of Christina Barton, Anton Berndt, Laura Preston and Thomasin Sleigh; a letter; Victoria University of Wellington 2009 Guide to Enrolment. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon

Fiona Connor, A letter, office move, and book, 2009, the offices of Christina Barton, Anton Berndt, Laura Preston and Thomasin Sleigh; a letter; Victoria University of Wellington 2009 Guide to Enrolment. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009

Fiona Connor, A letter, office move, and book, 2009, the offices of Christina Barton, Anton Berndt, Laura Preston and Thomasin Sleigh; a letter; Victoria University of Wellington 2009 Guide to Enrolment. Installation view, The Future is Unwritten, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. Photo: Michael Salmon