CHAIRS: Janine Randerson

Tidalectic Rhythms: A Durational Performance with Te Manukanuka O Hoturoa 

The first LASER talk of 2020 is a forum on Te Manukanuka O Hoturoa. In the LASER forum, New York artist Sarah Cameron Sunde, Dr Marama Muru-Lanning, Director of the James Henare Research Centre at the University of Auckland, and environmental scientist Nicholas Vigar (Auckland Council, Safeswim) who will each discuss their perspectives on this body of water.

The Manukau harbour is the site of New York based artist Sarah Cameron Sunde’s performance artwork 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea which will take place on the last Sunday in March. This event is the eighth performance in a series spanning six continents over seven years. At each site, Sunde stands in a tidal bay for a full tidal cycle (12-13 hours) as the water engulfs her body up to her chin and then recedes back down to her feet. Our local community is involved in making the Manukau harbour site of this work, including an invitation to stand with Sarah in the water, or to mark the passing of the hours from the shore.  

The discussion will raise a series of urgent questions – what issues are important for Te Manukanuka O Hoturoa and te mauri o te wai from an Indigenous perspective? What questions does Sarah’s performance raise about the waters of the Manukau harbour and the gradually rising seas around the Tāmaki isthmus?  What ‘tidalectic’ rhythms occur in this event, in poet Edward Kamau Braithwaite’s geo-poetic sense unsettle colonial framings of place? The speakers will explore how performance strategies, scientific research, deep histories and contemporary water politics can open understandings about the environmental and cultural health of our harbours, and the global implications of sea-level rise. 

This LASER talk and Sarah’s performance are co-hosted by the School of Art and Design, AUT and Te Uru gallery. Hosted by Janine Randerson and Dr Valence Smith.

Dr Marama Muru-Lanning 

Marama is a Senior Research Fellow and Director at the James Henare Research Centre. Her research is primarily concerned with debates and critical challenges in social anthropology where she focuses on the cultural specificity of iwi-Māori and their unique sense of place and belonging in New Zealand.  What distinguishes Marama nationally as a social scientist is her specialization in water, environment and indigenous engagement. She is a Council member of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, New Zealand’s oldest scholarly journal. Marama is from Turangawaewae Marae and is of Waikato and Ngati Maniapoto descent. 

Nicholas Vigar

Nick Vigar is a scientist, with a background in both water quality and health sciences.  Currently he manages Auckland Council’s Safeswim programme, which aims to manage the public health risk aspects of water quality in the Auckland Region.  Nick will give his perspectives on the water quality issues that exist in the Manukau Harbour, and the science that informs management of these issues and achieving improved outcomes.

Sarah Cameron Sunde 

Sarah is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist and director working at the intersection of performance, video, and public art. Her work investigates scale and duration in relationship to the human body, our environment, and deep time. Residencies/Honours include: Watermill Center, Baryshnikov Art Center, LMCC Workspace, Hermitage Foundation, MAP Fund Grant, Princess Grace Foundation Award, Creative Climate Award 1st Prize, Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst. She holds an MFA in Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice (City College of New York). www.SarahCameronSunde.com + www.36pt5.org

About 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea: 

Sarah’s exhibition at Te Uru in Auckland (opening March 7th) will feature a cycle of four multi-channel videos, one from each location where Sunde has performed since 2015: The Netherlands, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Kenya. The eighth work in the series will be created here in Manukau Harbour, starting on March 5, in collaboration with Te Uru and AUT, with the performance scheduled for March 29. The video work made in the Manukau harbour will premiere here during the first week in April. 36.5 generates personal, local, and global conversations about deep time and sea-level rise. www.36pt5.org.

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LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) Talks is Leonardo's international program of evening gatherings that bring artists and scientists together for informal presentations and conversations. LASER Talks were founded in 2008 by Bay Area LASER Chair Piero Scaruffi and are in over 30 cities around the world. To learn more about how our LASER Hosts and to visit a LASER near you please visit our website. 

The mission of the LASERs is to provide the general public with a snapshot of the cultural environment of a region and to foster interdisciplinary networking.