Venice Biennale exhibitor Brett Graham inspires young artists
‘Have faith in yourself,’ encourages accomplished Waikato sculptor.
Venice Biennale exhibitor Brett Graham (Ngati-Koroki-Kahukura) offered insights into his work on the second day of the Spark International Festival of Media, Arts and Design.
Speaking in front of a full lecture theatre at Waikato Museum (including his father Fred Graham, also a well known artist), Manurewa-raised Graham said it was great to be at the Spark Festival.
One of New Zealand’s most accomplished sculptors Graham, who has strong ties to the Waikato, in particular to Maungatautari, talked in detail about one of his more recognised exhibitions, Aniwaniwa, and the meaning behind his work.
The exhibition, which he worked on alongside Rachel Rakena, was selected from among hundreds of submissions from around the world to be showcased at the Venice Biennale in 2007.
Currently Graham has a number of projects running.
“I think it’s great if you’ve got different things going. At the moment I’m actually carving something for a park in Takapuna and sort of organising for Aniwaniwa to go to Canada.
“I think you need to be tough-minded to survive. You definitely need to have a few things on the go if you can.”
Festival director Kat Cox said it was important to have Graham as a guest at this year’s event to cater for those interested in the cultural element of art in New Zealand.
“His work is so visually impressive that when it is on a big screen, everyone pays attention and there’s something really powerful and commanding about his images.
“He is younger than a lot of the speakers we get, I think people relate to him really well and relate to his contemporary artworks as well.”
Graham encouraged aspiring artists, and particularly Maori artists, to “stick in there and have faith in yourself”.
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