Tempo is proud to support the opening of a new exhibition at Gus Fisher Gallery on Friday, 31 August at 5:30pm. Douglas Wright: Body of Work will run 31 August until 20 October, and is part of Tempo Dance Festival 2012. Exciting FREE public events take place throughout the exhibition.
Choreographer Douglas Wright is regarded as one of New Zealand’s most visionary artists. In his 30-year career, he has created more than 40 dance-theatre works. Many of these works have explored what it is to be human, the depths of the human spirit, and our ongoing relationships with life and death.
The exhibition Douglas Wright: Body of Work gathers work that highlights the extraordinary output of Wright’s body throughout his career. It shows documentation of work in progress – photographs by John Savage, Peter Molloy, MikiNobu Komatsu, Peter Dömötör, and others, capture exquisite flights exerted by uncommon bodies, as well as the complex psyche of Wright’s most seminal choreographies.
Also on show, in a more domestic setting evocative of Wright’s home, are his choreographic workbooks; paintings, sculptures, small installations and drawings, the making of which Wright describes as miniature gestural choreography; and his memoirs and drafts of poems that echo the text of his workbooks – vivid metaphors that give rise to the dances that imprint themselves onto the minds of their audiences long after the curtain has closed.
Presented in association with Tempo Dance Festival 2012 and Dance Studies, The University of Auckland. Curated by Georgina White.
FREE PUBLIC EVENTS
Saturday 1 September, 1pm – Screening and discussion of dance film Forever (1994) with Douglas Wright, Jo Randerson, filmmaker Chris Graves, rehearsal assistant Ann Dewey and Dr Keren Chiaroni.
Saturday 8 September, 1pm – Photographer John Savage talks about collaborating with artists and capturing movement, including his work on Douglas Wright’s Black Milk and rapt.
Saturday 15 September, 1pm – Dr Alys Longley, lecturer in Dance Studies, discusses her research into experimental documentation and writing in relation to performance.
Saturday 22 September, 1pm – Critic Raewyn Whyte and Dance Studies lecturer Carol Brown discuss aspects of contemporary dance.
Saturday 29 September, 1pm – Douglas Wright reads from his memoirs Ghost Dance, Terra Incognito and other writings.
Saturday 6 October, 1pm – Screening of Leanne Pooley’s award-winning 2003 documentary, Haunting Douglas (75min).
Saturday 13 October, 1pm – A screening of Douglas Wright’s Faun Variations (1987), influenced by Russian choreographer and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. Artist Sriwhana Spong responds with a discussion of her own interest in Nijinksy, and her films based on research and reimagining of dance history.
Saturday 20 October, 1pm – Marianne Schultz, Department of History, discusses the development of contemporary dance in New Zealand, particularly the role of Limbs Dance Company where Douglas Wright began his dance career in 1980.
All exhibitions and events are free and take place at the Gus Fisher Gallery unless otherwise noted.
THE GUS FISHER GALLERY GALLERY HOURS
The Kenneth Myers Centre Tuesday – Friday 10am – 5pm
74 Shortland St Saturday 12pm – 4pm
Auckland, New Zealand Closed Public Holidays
Telephone: 923 6646 (Closed Queens Birthday – 2 to 4 June)
www.gusfishergallery.auckland.ac.nz
www.facebook.com/gusfishergallery
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