Dane Mitchell

Dane Mitchell

IMA at TCB

11 April–31 May 200811 Apr–31 May 2008

New Zealand artist Dane Mitchell opens our TCB window space not with a blessing, but with a curse. A text warns us, remnants from spell are evident, and a thermometer might be there to record paranormal activity. It may be effectively invisible, yet experiencing the work provokes anything from nagging doubt to cynicism, from a sense of awakened possibilities to the impression that things are indeed beyond our immediate control. In previous works Mitchell has collaborated with mediums and psychics to explore the phantom inhabitants of art galleries and museums, created a portal to the spirit world in the Auckland Art Gallery and summoned the spirit of New Zealand painter Rita Angus via a medium. At a time when Maori take steps to make spaces ‘culturally safe’, Mitchell goes the other way, in the process drawing attention to our double standards regarding superstition.

The Institute of Modern Art acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land upon which the IMA now stands, the Jagera, Yuggera, Yugarapul, and Turrbal people. We offer our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first artists of this country. In the spirit of allyship, the IMA will continue to work with First Nations people to celebrate, support, and present their immense past, present, and future contribution to artistic practice and cultural expression.

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