TWO ROOMS GALLERY

AUCKLAND

TWO ROOMS

Two Rooms: Contemporary Art Gallery

Two Rooms, is a contemporary art exhibition venue located in a converted warehouse in Central Auckland, New Zealand. Opened in August 2006, Two Rooms presents a program of residencies and projects by leading International and New Zealand contemporary artists. The building houses two exhibition spaces, the Project Room and the Long Room.

An important focus of the gallery is a residency program, supporting ambitious new projects and facilitating the exchange of ideas between New Zealand and international artists. A converted warehouse two doors down from the gallery is available as a studio for invited international artists to stay for a period of up to 3 months. Visiting artists to Two Rooms have been Bridget Smith (UK), Runa Islam (UK), Kevin Appel (LA) Isaac Julien (UK) Basil Beattie (UK) Joachim Bandau (GER) David Thomas (AUS) and Cornelia Parker (UK) Sarah Lucas (UK), Fiona Hall (AUS) and Noel McKenna (AUS) .

The director of Two Rooms is Jenny Todd, previously of Todd Gallery London. The exhibition program will be developed through the director and supplemented by invited international and local curators.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday 11am – 6pm. Saturday 11am – 3pm

Mark Adams

Nine Fathoms Passage

24 April - 23 May 2015

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Mark Adams is one of New Zealand’s foremost documentary photographers, with over thirty years engagement in our colonial and pre-colonial histories. His first journey to Dusky Bay in 1995 launched his exploration of James Cook’s landing sites. His portrayal of these locations responds to the vision of painter William Hodges who was present on the second of Cook’s voyages. Adams made further expeditions to Dusky Sound in 1997 and 1998, more recently returning in May 2014.

The inlet was first sighted and named by Cook during his first voyage to New Zealand on the Endeavour in 1770. On the second voyage in 1773 the Resolution arrived in Dusky Sound after three months skirting the edge of the Antarctic ice fields. Cook and his crew then spent two months exploring the Sound. Appointed by the Admiralty to record these discoveries was English painter, William Hodges. He produced many drawings on board and on his return created four paintings depicting Dusky Sound, with portraits of the local peoples, thought to be Kati Mamoe. A soft golden hue imbues these paintings with the romanticism of a grand and beautiful landscape. Idealized and sublime, these were the beginning of a European vision of New Zealand, in particular the South Island. For Mark Adams these paintings denote the start of our settler origins and our cross-cultural history with its attendant turmoil.

This exhibition is an extension of the work Adams began in 1995. It is the last of four works responding to Hodges’ four paintings made following the time he spent in this remote part of the world. Seen as a means to document our history rather than simply depicting the landscape, Adams places himself inside Hodges’ paintings and looks out from these sites to reassess the history of this singular landscape. He slowly reveals the character of the place, only discovered through sustained attention and many hours spent camping in these locations, often in extreme conditions.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is called, Nine Fathoms Passage, 27. 6. 2014 – 1. 7. 2014. After William Hodges ‘Waterfall in Dusky Bay with a Maori Canoe, 1775-7. Placing his camera at the point where Hodges painted the Maori canoe, Adams’ has taken in a 360 degree panorama, producing his largest work to date. Occupying an entire wall of the gallery, this eleven panel, eleven metre long panorama, is photographed in colour. Looking in all directions from a singular point, recorded over a period of time, this monumental artwork captures the eerie stillness of this historically significant New Zealand place.

The three earlier works from the Dusky Bay series: View in Pickersgill Harbour after William Hodges, 17 May 1995 (3 panels), Indian Island, 360° panorama after William Hodges’ ‘View in Dusky Bay’, 2 – 10 August, 1998 (8 panels), and After William Hodges’ ‘Cascade Cove’, 21 May 1995 (4 panels), are hand printed, gold toned silver bromide black and white prints and an edition of each is in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery

Adams’ works have been exhibited and collected by Auckland Art Gallery; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; Christchurch Art Gallery; Govett Brewster Art Gallery; and Queensland Art Gallery. Significant exhibitions of Adams’ work have been staged at the Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University of Wellington; Sydney Museum; Zelda Cheatle Gallery, London; The National Library, Canberra; Sao Paolo Biennale 1997, among other major museums.

Mark Adams gratefully acknowledges Creative New Zealand, who have generously supported this expedition.

MARK ADAMS .......  NINE FATHOMS PASSAGE.

Wow what an experience that was .  Really enjoyed the

 viewing  a totally new experience for myself.



Mark Adams and Conor Clarke have  exhibited their work 

here.

 


For me personally I preferred Mark Adams work 

and chose one of his pieces to show. 


Firstly I loved this leaf the most.  The story behind this leaf 

 was amazing , Mark Adams collected it whilst on his journey 

around the sounds from a spot  next to this tree where

Captain Cook had tied his boat up . An incredible story . Mark 

actually had taken the photo of the tree stump thats still 

standing today and you can see the actual plant growing.

WOW

This a leaf that Mark Adams brought back from the sounds.  I love this exhibit.

This is the Totara Stump , Astronomers Point.
A stump of a Tree Chopped Down 1773.

Nine Fathoms Passage after William Hodges : Waterfall in Dusky Bay  with a Maori  Canoe, 1775-7
11 panels 1200 x 1000 mm each.

As above just a different angle

As above different photo of the different  panels.

This was my favourite panel . I loved how he captured the hills , one dark and white light.  The clouds just covering the left hill.  The water looks amazing  it draws you to the to the hills and it is almost like Mark is sitting on the water, well I guess he could of been if he had taken this image from his boat.  I feel the cloud meets the water , the hills are almost sandwiched between the water and clouds.

My favourite photograph of the Two Rooms

All works C-type prints , silver based colour enlargements from 10 x 8 inch Kodak Portra 400 negatives, mounted on dibond.

I really liked this segment.  I loved how he captured the hills , one dark and white light.  The clouds just covering the left hill.  The water looks amazing  it draws you to the to the hills and it is almost like Mark is sitting on the water, well I guess he could of been if he had taken this image from his boat.  The hills are almost sandwiched between the water and clouds.  I feel  Im  drawn into a beautiful place, Im gliding across the water . The colours appear warm and soft and  the clouds above are giving a warm and fuzzy feel .  Its number 9 out of the 11 panels from the Panoramic photograph of Marks amazing image.

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