Distinctive Edginess

Unnerved: The New Zealand Project, an exhibition of 26 contemporary local artists in various media, including photography, sculpture, video, painting and installation has opened at the National Gallery of Victoria in Brisbane. The pieces are considered a representation of the complex relationship between European settlers and the indigenous Maori. Included in the collection of over 1 pieces are portrait photographs by Yvonne Todd, who often refers to B-grade films and pulp fiction novels, and Michael Parekowhai’s life-size sculpture of a seal balancing a grand piano on its nose. “The works presented in Unnerved reveal a darkness and distinctive edginess that characterises this particular trend in New Zealand contemporary art,” the exhibition’s coordinating curator Jane Devery said. The exhibition runs until February 27 next year.