Tag: CoCA

Exploring Aerosol – A Masterclass Workshop with Wongi Wilson

Back in June, we were lucky enough to work with local aerosol legend Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson, Toi Ōtautahi and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to deliver the free masterclass workshop Exploring Aerosol. Hosted at the iconic CoCA on Gloucester Street, where the white-walled upper gallery provided a stunning setting, attendees were given the chance to learn from Wongi’s mass of accumulated knowledge. Learning about the building blocks of graffiti as a gateway to can control, from the simple tag to the more developed three-dimensional effects of a larger piece, guests were let loose to explore techniques as Wongi presented his insights. The afternoon session dived into Wongi’s approach realism, from landscapes to his mastery of hands, the crowd in silent appreciation of how his images came together.

The free workshop was one of the first of a series of classes targeting practicing artists and providing the chance to expand technical skills. In developing Exploring Aerosol, the goal was to enable artists to develop aerosol techniques while also exploring how the spray can might be used for a variety of forms and styles, elevating the tool to a broader perception. With an energetic response (with limited spaces, not every applicant was able to attend), we hope this was just the first of future workshops that might explore the toolbox of urban art…

We want to hear from more people interested in these types of workshops and initiatives – let us know in the comments or via email to hello@watchthisspace.org.nz

Jessie Rawcliffe – Close the Door When You Go at LUX Gallery

Jessie Rawcliffe’s figurative works are immediately alluring. The painstaking brush work, the flat blocks of colour that focus the finer detail, and the tight photographic cropping are all recurring effects that combine to explore both the medium of painting, as well as the sense of the ephemeral, the subjects in a state of flux. Figures are coloured with gestures, poses and expressions that serve as tools for communication, notably challenging the submissive female figure historically located in portraiture, confronting the viewer’s intrusive presence. Close the Door When You Go, Rawcliffe’s first solo show, continues the exploration of these themes, the title taking on a passive or aggressive instruction dependent on inflection, either way imploring respite from the outside world.

Oh, and then there are Jessie’s skulls, which come in all sorts of apparitions, including the fruity, revealing the underlying mortality of all life. The sticker versions that find their way onto the streets are definitely some of our favourite slaps going. They may not form part of Close the Door When You Go, but we couldn’t not bring them up!

We can’t wait to see this show!

Close the Door When You Go opens on Friday November 11, from 5:30pm, and will run simultaneously with Tyne Gordon’s show Visitor in CoCA’s Ground Floor Gallery.

Follow Jessie on Instagram

Porta: Applesauce at The Lux Gallery, CoCA

It is probably fair to say that Christchurch stencil artist Porta never expected to have an exhibition at a place like the Centre of Contemporary Art. So when he was approached by Hannah Watkinson of The Corner Store to show his work in the Lux Gallery space, he admits he was surprised. But perhaps he should not have been, after all he has had work featured in a growing number of festivals, shows and projects, from Spectrum to First Thursdays and, of course, the CAP’D exhibitions he started several years ago.

Porta admits that as is his normal approach, he didn’t really have a plan at first, and it has changed “a bunch of times” as he has got closer to show time, with ideas “falling by the wayside due to being too busy”, left for later down the track. The body of work that has come to form Applesauce is stencilled on a variety of materials, a signature the artist has developed over the years. Porta admits the ideas he works with “come from all over the place and are usually a playful take on something pretty run of the mill”, a reflection of the show’s intriguing title. Porta recounts that after a drawn-out argument, he and his verbal adversary realised that their disagreement had in fact, started with applesauce. That realisation allowed a pause, reflection, and then laughter. Much like that argument, the title Applesauce notes how the show is all about “making something from almost nothing”.

That idea extends to both the materials on which Porta’s images are made, which he collects from various sources, keeping an eye out for second hand stores, wrecking yards, garage sales and other favourite spots, and the re-contextualised, often lowbrow, images drawn from vintage movies, advertising and photography, all of which the artist admits are “fun to work with”. Importantly, that sense of fun extends throughout Porta’s work, and is a feature of Applesauce, packed with playful surprises and juxtapositions.

In his ever-humble manner, Porta is quick to thank those who have helped him put together Applesauce, including Hannah from The Corner Store, CoCA, the Fiksate crew, and vitally, Ghost Brewing for supplying the beer, and all things going well, Smokey T’s for ribs. When I ask him to explain in one sentence why everyone should get along to Applesauce on Friday, he suggests: “Because if you go somewhere else the possibility of getting free ribs will be slim as!” Ribs fan or not, get along to the Lux Gallery on Friday and support one of the city’s finest stencil artists…

Applesauce opens at 5:30pm, Friday the 16th November at the Lux Gallery at CoCA…