Kalisolaite ‘Uhila is a Tongan-born New Zealand award-winning performance artist.
Kalisolaite 'Uhila | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1981 (age 42–43) |
| Education | Auckland University of Technology |
| Notable work | Mo’ui tukuhausia (2014), Ongo Mei Moana (2015), Mother Man (2022), Kelekele Mo‘ui (Living Soil) (2024) |
| Style | Performance art |
| Awards | Harriet Friedlander Residency (2021) |
| Website | https://michaellett.com/artist/kalisolaite-uhila/ |
Biography
editKalisolaite ‘Uhila was born in Tonga in 1981, and is based in Auckland.[1][2][3][4] 'Uhila began as a print maker, completing his Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2010.[1][5] He then moved into being a performance artist and completed a Master of Performance and Media Arts in 2016, for which his thesis was entitled: Maumau-taimi: Wasting Time; Being Useless.[1][5][6]
'Uhila's performances have been wide ranging, including "living in a shipping container with a pig for a week,... performing on the roof of a gallery to bemused spectators in adjacent high-rise buildings and the street below, and 'cooking' himself in an umu."[7]
His most famous work, Mo'ui tukuhausia, involved him sleeping rough at Te Tuhi Gallery (2012) and Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery (2014), for which he was a finalist for the Walters Prize in 2014.[2][8][9]
In 2015, Ongo Mei Moana saw 'Uhila spend six-hours a day conducting the tide of Oriental Bay, Wellington.[10][11] In 2019, he performed at the Second Honolulu Biennial.[12]
In 2020, 'Uhila was featured in Robert George's movie I Am the Moment, which competed in the Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival.[13][14] The film featured 'Uhila's work in Tokyo while in residency at Youkobo Art Space in 2018.[13][15][7]
In 2022, he performed Mother Man with his nephew, at the Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery, which reinterpreted "Tongan gender roles enacted in ritual and ceremonial events which govern interactions."[15][16] From 2023-2024, he also worked in New York City and Heretaunga Hastings.[17] In 2024, 'Uhila performed Kelekele Mo‘ui (Living Soil) at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery.[17][18]
Awards and residencies
editHe has been the recipient of a number of awards and residencies including:
- Finalist for Walters Prize, 2014, for Mo'ui tukuhausia[2][9]
- ZK/U & Ifa Galerie Residency, Berlin, 2016[15]
- Contemporary Pacific Art Award, Arts Pasifika Awards, 2017[12][19]
- Montalvo Arts Centre Residency, California[15]
- Youkobo Art Space Residency, Tokyo, 2018[15][7]
- Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s Aotearoa New Zealand Visiting Artist, 2019[20]
- Harriet Friedlander Residency, Arts Foundation of New Zealand, 2021[1][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Arts Foundation. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ a b c "The invisible man". New Zealand Herald. 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Michael Lett. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ a b c "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Auckland University of Technology. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ 'Uhila, Kalisolaite (2016). Maumau-taimi: Wasting Time; Being Useless (Thesis). Auckland University of Technology.
- ^ a b c Nepia, Moana (2019). "About the Artist: Kalisolaite 'Uhila". The Contemporary Pacific. 31 (1): v–xii. doi:10.1353/cp.2019.0003.
- ^ Willis, Emma (2019-03-14). "'IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT' Performing homelessness in Kalisolaite 'Uhila's Mo'ui Tukuhausia". In Eckersall, Peter; Grehan, Helena (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-39911-1.
- ^ a b Tonga, Nina (August 2014). "Roaming all over". OFF THE WALL ISSUE #6. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ Gabbard, Caroline Sinavaiana (2019). "Archipelagic Poetics in the Art of Kalisolaite 'Uhila and Yuki Kihara". Journal of Transnational American Studies. 10 (1). doi:10.5070/T8101044166.
- ^ Hobart, Hi'ilei Julia (2019). "when we dance the ocean, does it hear us?" (PDF). Journal of Transnational American Studies. 10 (1). doi:10.5070/T8101044007.
- ^ a b "Kalisolaite 'Uhila - Performance artist heads to Honolulu Biennial". RNZ. 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ a b "Pasifika film-makers looking to shine at Whānau Mārama". The Fiji Times. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ I Am The Moment. Retrieved 2024-10-31 – via ondemand.nzfilm.co.nz.
- ^ a b c d e "Kalisolaite 'Uhila - Mother Man". Auckland Art Gallery. 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ Thompson, Tulia (2022-05-06). "Don't miss Auckland Art Gallery's breathtaking Pacific feminist exhibition". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ a b "Kelekele Mo'ui (Living Soil): Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ Davis, Sophie (2024-10-29). "Hastings Art Gallery column: The story behind the soil inside the gallery". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ Chadwick, Sanele (26 October 2017). "The man who lived with pigs and cooked himself in an oven". Newshub. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Retrieved 2024-10-31.