Utilising a range of predominantly found objects, Auckland based artist Rachel Walters arranges sculptural assemblages in the Project Space. Walters is attracted to objects associated with kitsch which are often sourced from Trade Me online auctions. Andrea Low states, “dressed in high-art drag, lustrous brown or chalky white patinas, the objects articulate their oneness. They are perverse and misappropriate, parodying notions of originality, skill and finesse but also the seemingly grandiose gestures of past Readymades.” Her objects form the raw material for a series of material investigations which subtly approach issues of cultural identity.
In Some Ancestors three small monkey figurines sit back to back under a ghost like rug sculpted from modeling clay. The work explores Māori spirituality where ancestral spirits are believed to visit their relatives in the present day. In a light manner the work considers apprehensions to this idea which are fore grounded by the artist’s interest in the way her bicultural identity complicates her relationship to her Māori and European cultures.