Reuben Paterson: Black Matter, installation view. Photo: Hagen Hopkins
Reuben Paterson, Arousers, 2017. Courtesy of Gow Langsford Gallery. Photo: Hagen Hopkins
Artist Talk: Reuben Paterson + Karl Chitham
Join Director of The Dowse, Karl Chitham, in discussion with Reuben Paterson as they discuss The Dowse Art Museum's exhibition, Reuben Paterson: Black Matter.
In Black Matter, Auckland based artist Reuben Paterson (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi) captures the moment a firework explodes in the night sky. Here, Reuben Paterson uses his signature glitter canvases to evoke ideas of wonder, attraction and an interrogation of other. The firework takes on new meaning seen through the lens of Paterson’s careful hand. There is still the spark of joy and light with the promise of more to come, but there is also a social and political undercurrent that asks us to think a little more deeply about our own place in the world and how we inhabit it.