TRAPPED IN A KISS

Exhibited in Māori Moving Image ki Te Uru, Te Uru, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, curated by Bridget Reweti and Melanie Oliver 

Trapped in a kiss takes artist Ralph Hotere’s contribution to contemporary art through his relationship with text and printing as a loose point of departure to explore ways of thinking about language and art history. It was filmed in Ōtautahi on two locations; the Limeworks building where some of Hotere’s prints were made, and my friend Peter’s home letterpress print studio.

In the video I make words ‘hue’ and ‘one’ through physical gestures; tracing into the condensation left after breathing on a window, and the process of setting and printing letterpress. Both words can be read across te reo Māori and English, depending on the perspective of the viewer.

Single-channel HD video, colour, sound, duration 9 mins 37 secs
Photography by Sam Hartnett