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Kalisolaite 'Uhila

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Kalisolaite 'Uhila
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Tonga
EducationAuckland University of Technology
Notable workMo’ui tukuhausia (2014), Ongo Mei Moana (2015), Mother Man (2022), Kelekele Mo‘ui (Living Soil) (2024)
StylePerformance art
AwardsHarriet Friedlander Residency (2021)
Websitehttps://michaellett.com/artist/kalisolaite-uhila/

Kalisolaite ‘Uhila is a Tongan-born New Zealand award-winning performance artist.

Biography

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Kalisolaite ‘Uhila was born in Tonga in 1981, and is based in Auckland.[1][2][3][4] 'Uhila began as a print maker, completing his Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2010.[1][5] He then moved into being a performance artist and completed a Master of Performance and Media Arts in 2016, for which his thesis was entitled: Maumau-taimi: Wasting Time; Being Useless.[1][5][6]

'Uhila's performances have been wide ranging, including "living in a shipping container with a pig for a week,... performing on the roof of a gallery to bemused spectators in adjacent high-rise buildings and the street below, and 'cooking' himself in an umu."[7]

His most famous work, Mo'ui tukuhausia, involved him sleeping rough at Te Tuhi Gallery (2012) and Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery (2014), for which he was a finalist for the Walters Prize in 2014.[2][8][9]

In 2015, Ongo Mei Moana saw 'Uhila spend six-hours a day conducting the tide of Oriental Bay, Wellington.[10][11] In 2019, he performed at the Second Honolulu Biennial.[12]

In 2020, 'Uhila was featured in Robert George's movie I Am the Moment, which competed in the Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival.[13][14] The film featured 'Uhila's work in Tokyo while in residency at Youkobo Art Space in 2018.[13][15][7]

In 2022, he performed Mother Man with his nephew, at the Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery, which reinterpreted "Tongan gender roles enacted in ritual and ceremonial events which govern interactions."[15][16] From 2023-2024, he also worked in New York City and Heretaunga Hastings.[17] In 2024, 'Uhila performed Kelekele Mo‘ui (Living Soil) at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery.[17][18]

Awards and residencies

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He has been the recipient of a number of awards and residencies including:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Arts Foundation. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  2. ^ a b c "The invisible man". New Zealand Herald. 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  3. ^ "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  4. ^ "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Michael Lett. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  5. ^ a b c "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Auckland University of Technology. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  6. ^ 'Uhila, Kalisolaite (2016). Maumau-taimi: Wasting Time; Being Useless (Thesis). Auckland University of Technology.
  7. ^ a b c Nepia, Moana (2019). "About the Artist: Kalisolaite 'Uhila". The Contemporary Pacific. 31 (1): v–xii. doi:10.1353/cp.2019.0003.
  8. ^ Willis, Emma (2019-03-14). "'IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT' Performing homelessness in Kalisolaite 'Uhila's Mo'ui Tukuhausia". In Eckersall, Peter; Grehan, Helena (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-39911-1.
  9. ^ a b Tonga, Nina (August 2014). "Roaming all over". OFF THE WALL ISSUE #6. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  10. ^ Gabbard, Caroline Sinavaiana (2019). "Archipelagic Poetics in the Art of Kalisolaite 'Uhila and Yuki Kihara". Journal of Transnational American Studies. 10 (1). doi:10.5070/T8101044166.
  11. ^ Hobart, Hi'ilei Julia (2019). "when we dance the ocean, does it hear us?" (PDF). Journal of Transnational American Studies. 10 (1). doi:10.5070/T8101044007.
  12. ^ a b "Kalisolaite 'Uhila - Performance artist heads to Honolulu Biennial". RNZ. 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  13. ^ a b "Pasifika film-makers looking to shine at Whānau Mārama". The Fiji Times. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  14. ^ I Am The Moment. Retrieved 2024-10-31 – via ondemand.nzfilm.co.nz.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Kalisolaite 'Uhila - Mother Man". Auckland Art Gallery. 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  16. ^ Thompson, Tulia (2022-05-06). "Don't miss Auckland Art Gallery's breathtaking Pacific feminist exhibition". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  17. ^ a b "Kelekele Mo'ui (Living Soil): Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  18. ^ Davis, Sophie (2024-10-29). "Hastings Art Gallery column: The story behind the soil inside the gallery". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  19. ^ Chadwick, Sanele (26 October 2017). "The man who lived with pigs and cooked himself in an oven". Newshub. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  20. ^ "Kalisolaite 'Uhila". Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
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