So it vanished: art, tapu and shared space in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand
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Authors
Barrett, J.
Keywords
Transgressive art
Tapu
Indigenous beliefs
Exhibitions
Tapu
Indigenous beliefs
Exhibitions
Description of form
Publisher
Rights
Rights holder
Issue Date
2013-07
Peer-reviewed status
Type
Article
Language
en
Abstract
In February 2012, The Dowse Art Museum (‘The Dowse’) in Lower Hutt, New Zealand
cancelled an exhibition by internationally renowned Mexican artist Teresa Margolles on
the ostensible grounds of culture offence. This article analyses the cancellation of
Margolles’s So It Vanishes and situates it in the context of previous conflicts between
Indigenous beliefs and exhibitions of transgressive art. Background information is
firstly provided and Margolles’s work is sketched and compared with other taboobreaking
works of transgressive art. The Māori concept of tapu is then outlined.1 A
discussion follows on the incompatibility of So It Vanishes with tapu, along with a
review of other New Zealand exhibitions that have proved inconsistent with Indigenous
values. Conclusions are then drawn about sharing exhibition space in contemporary
Aotearoa NewZealand.
Citation
Barrett, J. (2013). So it vanished: art, tapu and shared space in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand. Portal, 10(2), 1-17.