Artist talk: Sorawit Songsataya

Join artist Sorawit Songsataya, in conversation with Gallery curator, contemporary art, Natasha Conland, as they discuss Sorawit’s new commission, The Interior, opening on 23 Nov on the Gallery’s North Sculpture Terrace.

During my research, I came across a painting held within the Gallery’s collection – ‘Te Tangi o Te Moa’ 1907 by Trevor Lloyd. 
The painting informs the arrangement of sculptures on the terrace. 
On a personal note, the work touches on cultural identity and my immigrant background and from experience as a diasporic queer person...

— Sorawit Songsataya

About the artist:

Sorawit Songsataya is a multi-media artist currently based in Pōneke Wellington. He has a video-installation practice, which often explores the many tangents that connect and redefine our understanding of subjectivity and ecology. In 2018, Songsataya received a Swedish Arts Grant to participate in a studio residency in Stockholm via IASPIS Konstnärsnämnden; he was a McCahon House Artist in residence in 2017 and has exhibited with Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Artspace Aotearoa, Tensta Konsthall, Adam Art Gallery, and Te Tuhi. Songsataya was the 2019 summer artist in residence at Rita Angus cottage with Enjoy Contemporary Art Space earlier this year.

Image credits: 
Image 1. Sorawit Songsataya, concept proposal for The Interior, 2019.
Image 2. Sorawit Songsataya
Image 3. Trevor Lloyd, Te tangi o te moa, 1907.Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, bequest of Miss Connie Lloyd, 1983