Rachael Rakena

CoCA is proud to present a solo exhibition by artist Rachael Rakena (Ngāi Tahu, Ngā Puhi).

Rakena creates nuanced and visually alluring video, sculptural and performative works that explore a continuum of Māori tikanga through contemporary art practice.

Through this motivation, her works often stand in resistance and critique of colonial and capitalist strategies that furtively attempt to limit or co-opt indigenous people and their culture. This aspect of her practice is most apparent in her work Haka Peepshow (2011) — an ambitious public work that responded to the exploitation of the haka and the male Māori body in marketing campaigns for the All Blacks during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Rakena's work has been exhibited throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally in galleries, museums and events such as: 52nd Venice Biennale; 2006 Biennale of Sydney; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany; Neuer Berliner Kunstverien; Bangkok Experimental Film Festival and University of Chicago Film Studies Center; City Gallery Wellington; Govett-Brewster Art Gallery; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu; and the 2004 SCAPE Biennial.