A Wellington based artist has revealed her latest project that celebrates the 30 year anniversary of homosexual law reform and tells the stories of queer activism in New Zealand. Light Box Detail, Sian Torrington. Artist Sian Torrington‘s latest project We don’t have to be the Building features in the Courtenay Place light boxes from August until December. The assemblage pieces photographed for the lightboxes are the result of an extensive, interactive, community-based project that involved interviews, drawing sessions, consciousness-raising groups, and creative queer expression workshops. “I don’t want my art to only live on the walls of galleries that only certain people go into or have money to buy from,” says Torrington. “Art helps us to find ways to tell our stories. I'm looking at the coming out process – telling our personal stories as a form of activism. That includes stories about our sexuality. I am searching for my own and our community whakapapa of sexuality and protest. I'm focusing on lesbian, bi-sexual, queer female-bodied, trans*, mana wahine, takataapui and female-identified activists.” Torrington interviewed prominent activists of Homosexual Law Reform and spent many hours in the Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand researching for the project. Check out the project on Courtney Place from next month.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 21st July 2016 - 4:53pm