On 16 September 2023, Samantha Cheng invited participants to join her on the train to participate in a temporary exhibition for Chez Derriere’s final Play workshop.
Samantha asked participants to bring an artwork or item they would like to exhibit on a short train journey from Newmarket Station to Mt Albert and back again, starting at 10am on Saturday 16 September at Newmarket Train Station.
The artist encouraged participants to be creative in how they exhibited their item on the train. Items and artworks could be worn on a bag or clothing, it could be a video played on a phone or attached to a bicycle or pet!
Samantha recommended looking at AT’s train etiquette (details of which can be found here and here), as it offers advice on where items could be stored or exhibit on the train, perhaps on a lap or under a seat. Samantha is intrigued by the role of the passenger and invited everyone to assume this role with her.
On return to Newmarket Station, participants stayed for a picnic of sandwiches and scones in the park at Lumsden Green, a short walk from Newmarket Train Station.
The performance was documented and will be exhibited as part of the upcoming Play exhibition at Chez Derriere opening on 30 September 2023.
About Samantha Cheng
Samantha Cheng works across installation, sculpture and video to pursue purposelessness and seek out humourous encounters in art making. In her practice these are strategies to reconceive of failure as a generative space for making performative gestures that operate as an ongoing rehearsal for the real world. Previous exhibitions include Mass/Mess, 2023, Window; Interim Express, 2023, Oddly; and Surface Level with Hugo Primbs, 2022, RM Gallery. She is based in Tāmaki Makaurau and has a Master of Visual Arts (2021) from Auckland University of Technology.