Sonja Van Kerkoff – Skype Chat – Dorkbot CBR 25 June

Sonja van Kerkhoff has lived in the Netherlands since 1989, but was born in Taranaki in 1960 and raised on a dairy farm under the mountain. For Dorkbot she will discuss the creation and the logistics of the multi-screen project “Kainga a roto” (Home Within) made with her partner Sen McGlinn, which is both a site-specific architectural form as well as video and soundscape that touches on the ‘unwanted land’ of her childhood. The work has two distinctive aspects, one technical and physical, and the other spiritual and psychological. It was first commissioned by the Museum of Sculpture (Museum Beelden aan Zee) in the Hague in 2010. It was re-created in Istanbul for ISEA 2011, and its third reincarnation was for SCANZ 2013 in New Plymouth, Aotearoa / New Zealand. The works can be viewed here: www.sonjavank.com/kainga.htm

Kāinga a roto (Home Within) installation detail ISEA Istanbul 2011

Often Sonja’a videos, installations, interactive works, sculpture or drawings relate to a type of telling that plays with meanings or associations in lyrical ways. Viewers often need to take action as part of the experience of the work. In the original version of this installation, viewers could not experience all five videos without moving around in the space. She often collaborates with others and many individuals have contributed to “Kāinga a roto” (Home Within), in particular, Toroa Pohatu and Sen McGlinn.

Kāinga a roto (Home Within) is an art-system, consisting of five distinct videos, with sounds, lights and shadows, and a physical space. This art-system is used to represent the complex system of a particular biography (growing up in Taranaki), using a visual language composed of references to the natural world (water in particular, but also earth, wind and bird life) influenced by Māori cultural values.

Kāinga a roto (Home Within) installation detail ISEA Istanbul 2011

When: Tuesday 25 June, 6pm 2013
Where: Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Gorman house, Ainslie Avenue, Ainslie.
Reference: www.sonjavank.com/kainga.htm