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3rd nature: Pierre Proske and Damian Stewart

SCANZ art work photo

The above shot shows Brickets exhibited in a gallery location – for “3rd nature” the Brickets will be placed in a large bird enclosure (which will be monitored for the birds response)

Introduction: Brickets

These units record environmental data, once the traditional place of the scientist and here explored by artists. The output of the units cannot be known, and how the birds will respond is similarly unknown. While being fundamentally an electronic art work, there are ethical questions here, and also this work shows how well electronic art works can be released from the museum/gallery venue, inviting a different relationship to the audience and one less encumbered by concepts such as ‘art’.

3rd nature: Trudy Lane and Halsey Burgund

Trudy  Lane image

Image from a walk event in 2011, held at 457 metres along a farm fenceline.

Introduction

Trudy Lane has developed the concept of ‘Wonderlogue’ which are dinner-dialogue events that involve people from diverse disciplines talking about their viewpoints on the same subject. This has evolved into walking events, where the art work takes place in the landscape. For example, 457 metres of a walk are broken at points corresponding to the Earth’s 4.57 billion year history. At a particular marker, a kaumatua (Elder) and geologist might each comment from their perspective, driving respect for each other’s understanding and sometimes illuminating interconnections.

For the SCANZ 2013 exhibition, Trudy has collaborated with the US-based sound artist and musician Halsey Burgund to develop a location-sensitive audioscape for the walk. Using a map and an iPhone application, visitors can stroll through 4.5 billion years of the Earth’s history, hear the thoughts from past participants, and add their own. In this way an invisible pathway is formed across the museum, which references the museum collections, and provides a physical linkage from the works in the galleries to those outside in Pukekura Park and the environs of Taranaki.

3rd nature: Tracey Benson

Tracey Benson image

Tracey Benson “Fauxonomy”. This work references places that are protected such as marine reserves, and also looks at land use around estuaries and coastal locations. The project will be hybridised to local Taranaki places for the exhibition.

 

Introduction

Land forms and topography are referenced here, in images that straddle the division between geography and art. Into the fractal landscape, human activities and sensibilities are layered. Benson also works with indigenous groups in Australia, and is involved in several projects that empower through the digital.

3rd nature: Kura Puke

Kura Puke Image

“3-orange waharua a” is an earlier work by Kura Puke, who will present “Ka Wa Ka Wa” at 3rd nature. “Ka Wa Ka Wa” will be made for the exhibition.

The words on each of the exhibitor pages, will change as further discussion takes place and a greater awareness of the works results. We began by examining the works from the point of view of how some of them interconnect with each other in terms of content. This was so we could form a rationale of where in the collection might be a good position for the work.

Interconnections

The work of Kura Puke interconnects electronics through programming LED’s, and traditional Maori approaches to Toi (art), referencing tukutuku panels and other forms. “Ka Wa Ka Wa” is a reference to the native Kawakawa tree, and this is one connecting point to several works engaging with plants: the “Brickets” of Damian Stewart and Pierre Proske are located in trees, while Nigel Helyer’s work is located in Pukekura Park, as is Darko Fritz’s.

Another interconnective point is that the LED’s point to stars, and these are referenced in the works by Te Huirangi Waikerepuru and Nina Czegledy. Consequently this work by Kura Puke occupies a central interconnective point to the whole exhibition.

3rd nature: Josh Wodak

Wodak image

Josh Wodak. “2 degrees before 2028.” Digital image. 450mmx650mm. The image is based on projected sea level rise in the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. The red lines indicate less than two degrees increase in temperature (right hand side image) and higher than two degrees (left image).

Introduction

One of the underlying themes for the SCANZ 2013: 3rd nature project is that there is some urgency to bringing together the wisdom of diverse peoples, and bringing together diverse ways of doing things: global climate change is growing more significant every day. We must do something about this, and these works by Josh Wodak point directly at climate change.

Wodak has been researching the impact of rising sea levels on low lying Pacific Islands. This data is then projected onto the human form, and the red lines indicated sea level height.

Wanting to take part in world wide action to resolve global warming is why we have brought art, science, technology and indigenous knowledge together.

3rd nature: Anne Pincus

Anne Pincus image

Left: “Medusae”, 2010 Crocheted silver wire. Right: “Lior,” 2010 Crocheted fishing line.

Introduction

The subtle forms of jellyfish are delicately caught in these works, as if they were floating in air. These works relate to the computational model of sharks by Mike Paulin, the floating cyanobacteria of Hideo Iwasaki and the reference to animals in Janet Laurence’s work. Lighting is also a key factor.

One other reason for the inclusion of the Medusae was to reinforce a sense of multiple scales in the exhibition. In scaling terms, smallest are the bacteria by Hideo Iwasaki and the electronics of Pierre Proske and Damian Stewart, then there are these jellyfish by Pincus, the objects selected by Janet Laurence, up to the human scale of the Josh Wodak works and Mike Paulin’s shark. The landscape is referenced in the works by Tracey Benson, Darko Fritz, Nigel Helyer and Trudy Lane. Kura Puke’s LED works point to the stars, as does the galactic wind work by Nina Czegledy and collaborators, and finally “Te Taiao Maori (the Maori universe)” by Te Huirangi Waikerepuru has vast scales of space and time.

3rd nature: Mike Paulin

Shark image

Still image from “Computational Visualization of the Electromagnetic Sensory World of Sharks”

Introduction

While a computer model of a shark and the electromagnetic spectrum of the Earth may seem at odds with traditional Maori knowledge, as part of the Istanbul exhibition, connections were found. Embedded in the computer model is the scientific viewpoint that life emerged from water; the shark’s sensory system is integrated with it’s surroundings including the electromagnetic field which is an instance of integrated systems; and clearly the forces of energy are at play. These three themes – life emerging from water, integrated systems and ‘all is energy’ or energistic conceptions – can be seen in Te Taiao Maori by Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru.

3rd nature: Te Huirangi Waikerepuru

Te Taiao Maori

The chart of “Te Taiao Maori”, made for exhibition in Istanbul is in this version shown in Rio de Janeiro, animated with the star imagery of Paul Moss in the background.

Introduction

At Intercreate we are privileged to work with Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru. Dr Waikerepuru was been instrumental in getting Maori language – Te Reo – recognised, played a leading role in submissions on the radio spectrum (which led to Maori radio and Maori television) and currently is being pivotal in sharing knowledge among the world’s community. This is particularly important at this time, because many believe that listening to the indigenous voice on the subject of environment is central to resolving issues of climate change.

The animated version of Te Taiao Maori shares some of the traditional knowledge of Maori.

SCANZ 2013: From second to third nature – building cultural bridges between Mātauranga Māori and Western science

Author: Ian Clothier

Abstract

In 2011 at ISEA Istanbul “Te Kore Rongo Hungaora: Uncontainable second nature” brought together for the first time, Mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge pre-colonisation) and Western science in the context of electronic art. Kaumatua (respected elder) Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru contributed “Te Taiao Māori” and Associate Professor Mike Paulin of the Zoology department in Otago University, exhibited a blu ray disc of selected portions of his “Computational Visualization of the Electromagnetic Sensory World of Sharks”.

These two works were selected along with eight others, in accordance with five curatorial themes: cosmological context, all is energy, life emerged from water, anthropic principle and integrated systems.

This paper provides images of the works in the exhibition and describes the ways in which the works intersected the themes. An unexpected outcome of the project was to find that the interconnections were many, rather than few.

SCANZ 2013: Societal Acceptance of Ground-Source Heat Innovations for Rural Māori Communities with the example of Ngati Rangiwewehi

Authors: Gina Mohi, Paul White and Diane Bradshaw

Abstract

Iwi/Māori have a long association with New Zealand’s natural environment that is based on knowledge that has built up over time through centuries of interaction with the natural world. This includes the use of natural resources within many iwi/Māori communities. Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) also includes tradition but is a broader collection of Māori knowledge, or set of subjects relating to esoteric and spiritual knowledge based in the past but often used and evolving in the present, for the future (Bradshaw and Faulkner, 2009).

Ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) are an established technology, capable of delivering efficient heating and cooling utilising the immense renewable energy stored in the ground, ground water or surface water. They are being recognised as an alternative to fossil fuel systems and can offer significant reductions in the overall CO2 emissions. GNS Science Māori Strategy seeks to identify the opportunities of GSHP technologies as a consideration for housing or marae development. This technology has much to offer communities, particularly in rural areas because resource use is relatively benign. Also, this technology has much to offer Māori and the important rural marae that fulfil a crucial role in New Zealand communities.

In this paper, we describe a comprehensive framework for ground-source heat pump technologies in rural Māori communities aiming at societal acceptance of resource use and the technology associated with ground-source heat pumps. For these communities, resource utilisation must be consistent with long-term Māori custodial responsibilities. The framework is developed and tested with Ngāti Rangiwewehi and the Awahou Marae on the shores of Lake Rotorua.