Projectspace

Vaimoana Eves

Author: Sophie Keyse 

“The stuffed stockings seemed to be transformed into the look of marble and immediately reminded me of classical sculpture although I knew they weren’t.  I so wanted to touch and explore these exquisite works, but knowing the rules of the gallery I was forbidden.”

Vaimoana Eves’ exhibition Play Space, currently on view at Corban Estate Arts Centre, stemmed from the artist’s desire to touch and explore the inaccessible creations of her favourite artist Sarah Lucas.  This yearning to get inside the biomorphic forms caused Eves to reassess her art practice and inspired her to incorporate interaction into her installations: “The stuffed stockings seemed to be transformed into the look of marble and immediately reminded me of classical sculpture although I knew they weren’t.  I so wanted to touch and explore these exquisite works, but knowing the rules of the gallery I was forbidden.”  The main focus of Play Space is active play: by abstracting sport and games and their relationship to the body Eves has created three separate pieces which can be stretched, pulled and tugged – in a similar vein to sporting activities – by the physical body.  To emphasise the arena-like transformation of the gallery space, a slightly off-centre circle has been taped to the floor – big enough for a person to stand in – which could be utilised as a point of reference to stand and throw from, much like the centre circle on a netball court.  An over-arching concept behind Eves’ art is using play as a means to learn more about ourselves, others and the world we live in.  Her principal wish is that the participant has some sort of connection, with the present moment or with the immediate physical environment, through their own experience.  This active engagement with the artworks – either singularly or as a whole - will hopefully remind visitors that play is both physical and social, and ultimately a very human experience.   
 

Play Space perhaps best elucidates Eves’ artistic, and personal, influences, which is society itself and the social engagement between individuals.  Her upbringing and family have a lot of influence on how and what she makes, with her work frequently incorporating memories from her childhood and investigating how they have shaped her artwork today.  Texts on philosophy, phenomenology and anthropology have supplemented these inspirations, with writers such as Julia Kristeva leading Eves to incorporate the abject as a device to draw people into her work, particularly the sense of play, fun, humour and even slapstick.  Artists such as Larissa Kosloff, Pipootti Rist and Hayley Newman similarly employ humour and playfulness in their practice and Eves looks to them, as well as a host of other conceptual artists including Hannah Wilke, Yayoi Jusama, Annette Messager and Ana Mendieta, as creative influences.  

Currently in the midst of a Master of Design at Unitec, Eves has dabbled in several art courses in Australia and New Zealand – often juggling full-time work and studying.  At present her preferred media are sculpture and installation, particularly constructing objects from fabric and suspending them from ceilings and walls.  The exhibition space is a significant influence on Eves’ artwork, with nothing set in concrete until the artist is working the site itself.  This ties in with Eves actively incorporating the use of all senses in her pieces, in the hopes it will enhance as well as open up different levels of meaning simultaneously, thus prompting engagement with the work.  

Next up for Vaimoana is preparing for her final master’s show which will be a selection of past and new work. It has been an invaluable experience for Eves to exhibit Play Space at Corban Estate Arts Centre as it has allowed her to see how visitors interact with the sculptures and enable her to refine the final submission for her Master’s.