Parlour Launches Artist-in-Residency Programme

Parlour Launches Artist-in-Residency Programme
Parlour Projects has selected Grace Wright as the recipient of it inaugural artist-in-residency programme. The programme seeks to bring an important artist to Hawke’s Bay each year to research and develop new work that responds to the environment and landscape of the region, whilst enabling the local community to experience influential contemporary art. From May 22 to June 2, Grace Wright will create a large-scale installation on the gallery’s main viewing wall measuring 11 x 6 metres. The community is invited to visit the gallery as Grace executes her most ambitious project yet. The installation will then form part of a solo exhibition, Breathing Room, which will open on the evening of June 2. Grace will create a sound work to accompany her large-scale installation:

“This project is an expansion on ideas that have surfaced in my work over the past three years. Traditionally, the edge of the canvas marks the end of the work. This installation will extend the canvas and make the room the grounds for a painting. The visitor will now be comparatively smaller to the painting. I liken it to being near a mountain; because of your comparative size, you feel small, very low to the ground and immediately aware of your physical body. In this show, I want to re- create this same sensation. The work towers over you, and wraps around you.

The breathing sound will enhance this connection to and experience of the painting. When we hear a deliberate breathing sound, for example when watching a film, often we match it, or suddenly become aware of our own breath. Hearing a meditative breathing in this context will make people aware of their physical selves and their presence in the space.” – Grace Wright

The programme endeavours to bring leading emerging or established artists to the region to connect Hawkes Bay’s art and cultural scene with the rest of New Zealand by encouraging conversations and building relationships outside of the region. It provides the local community with an opportunity to experience forward-thinking, innovative contemporary art without having to travel to the major cities or art hubs.