Dane Mitchell
Letters and Documents
curated by Christina Barton
02 June – 15 August 2020
This exhibition brought a key element of Dane Mitchell’s 2019 Post Hoc installation for the 58th Venice Biennale together with works produced by the artist between 1998 and 2005. Focused on the printed lists that were produced during the seven-month exhibition in Venice, this gathering of works charted a particular trajectory back to Mitchell’s earlier practice, bringing together drawings, printed documents, vinyl records and photographic documentation. These formats uncannily replicate the logic of Post Hoc, but are its incipient precursor. From a stolen painting, to a lost satchel, a purloined bag of rubbish and illicitly recorded conversations, Mitchell treats his subjects and their representation as tools to reflect on how information and knowledge is conveyed, exchanged, withheld, remembered and forgotten.
Dane Mitchell (b. 1976) lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Auckland Institute of Technology in 1998 and a Master of Philosophy from Auckland University of Technology in 2012. He has held residencies in Melbourne, Wellington, London, Berlin, New Plymouth, Dunedin and Scotland and regularly exhibits nationally and internationally. In 2019 he represented New Zealand at the 58th Venice Biennale.
This exhibition was staged concurrently with Ken Friedman: 92 Events, Julia Morison: Head[case] and Violent Legalities: Fraser Crichton, Mariachiara Ficarelli, Lachlan Kermode, Bhaveeka Madagammana, Davide Mangano, Karamia Müller.
Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Private and Confidential, colour digital c-type prints, 1270 x 1270mm each. Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Private and Confidential, six framed letters each 353 x 268mm (frames). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Post Hoc Relic (detail), 2019, printed paper rolls, canvas and metal strap, dimensions variable. Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Post Hoc Relic, 2019, printed paper rolls, canvas and metal strap, dimensions variable. Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Line/Breath Drawings, 2005, pencil and breath on paper, five sheets, each 490 x 265mm (frames). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Line/Breath Drawings, 2005, pencil and breath on paper, 90 x 265mm (frames). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Recent Acquisitions, 2002, two framed letters each 353 x 268mm (frames). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Recent Acquisitions (detail), 2002, two framed letters each 353 x 268mm (frames). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Recent Acquisitions (detail), 2002, shredded paper in five cardboard boxes, one framed document (reassembled from shredded printed paper), boxes each: 465 x 465 x 360mm, 353 x 258mm (frame). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Recent Acquisitions(detail), 2002, shredded paper in five cardboard boxes, one framed document (reassembled from shredded printed paper), boxes each: 465 x 465 x 360mm, 353 x 258mm (frame). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, Recent Acquisitions (detail), 2002, shredded paper in five cardboard boxes, one framed document (reassembled from shredded printed paper), boxes each: 465 x 465 x 360mm, 353 x 258mm (frame). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell & Tim Checkley, Artspace Totem, 1999 timber and paint, found object, 750 x 690 x 620mm, collection of the artist, gift of Artspace Aotearoa. Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Dane Mitchell, The Art Loss Register, 1998, two framed letters and envelopes, each 450 x 420mm (frames). Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Dane Mitchell: Letters and Documents, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020. Photo: Ted Whitaker