Face Value in in its third year of touring throughout New Zealand, and is opening this weekend at the Ashbuton Art Gallery, 19th April to the 12th June. The exhibtion is currently on tour with Dis-covery throughout Australia, and is heading to Europe this summer.

Face Value Exhibition Press Release.  20^th July 2009

Serena Giovanna Stevenson.

FACE VALUE

Photography and film installation by Serena Giovanna Stevenson

Expressed through photography and film, Face Value conveys the universal intimacy of M?ori facial moko (tattoo) through six personal stories.

Face Value compels us to be drawn into the everyday space and profound moments before, during, and after the intensely personal process of t? moko, as seen through the eyes of photographer and multi-media artist Serena Giovanna Stevenson.

Face Value looks at facial t? moko in its unique environment – absorbing the viewer’s attention but refraining from entering into the history, specific cultural knowledge or politics of moko. The scenes are of real people in their homes, familiar spaces, both indoors and outdoors: we experience the sincerity, human impulse and gaze of understanding passing through the eyes of one generation to the next – from grandfather to grandchild, daughter to mother and on and on.

The images – an otherwise simple capture of people, settings and landscapes - reveal themselves to be precious steps along the journey that follows the recipient receiving his or her facial moko from the t? moko artist, surrounded by the love of family and friends. 

The images highlight the strength of human-to-human connection and how the exchange of facial moko is not possible without this deeply personal contact. It’s also about how unity in the world is impossible if we do not celebrate who we are and if we’re confined to judging each other by face value alone.

Commonly viewed purely for its striking, visual aesthetic, too often, there are misunderstandings and mismatched meanings surrounding facial moko.

The purpose of the exhibition isn’t to represent or explain t? moko for its cultural significance, nor for its development as a contemporary art form. Instead, the images deliver a beauty and energy that’s about the intense connection between people.

Serena’s first contact with t? moko artists was fuelled by an urge to contribute to her own community through photography – having travelled overseas on various assignments, her work began to take on a new direction.

Since 2000, the Face Value project has taken Serena on an in-depth journey into the M?ori culture.

My photography of moko over the past eight years has never been a project about the ‘face value’ of a person wearing facial moko.

I have intended to photograph not just the moko wearer, but all parts of the exchange during the sublime ritual of receiving t? moko. We all need comfort, to be cared for, shelter, food, human touch and to share our emotions. There is lineage, whakapapa, connections; all these themes are in each of the photographs.

The project has taken Serena to Tahiti Nui, tracing M?ori origins in the South Pacific and to numerous w?nanga and gatherings throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

Stories emerged: working with a wider group of more than 50 people, Serena formed a bond with six individuals who decided to go ahead with their facial moko and invited Serena to engage in the process. Themes of integrity, respect, patience and trust were at the core of Serena’s working style.

Based on Serena’s empathy and long-term collaboration with the individuals involved, we gain an insight into the personal story and intimate relationship that develops between each recipient (wearer) and t? moko artist (practitioner).

By bringing such private images into a public space, Serena intends to elevate the perception of facial moko and the significance of the relationships that we are witness to.

In turn, the photography and film installation express the work of the t? moko artists and pay tribute to their roles and careers as artists, community leaders and family members.

The intention of the work is not to focus on the cultural elements of M?ori and the art of moko, but rather, to utilise this as a metaphor for humanity, to not judge people at face value. M?ori choose to go beyond the stigma and discrimination, to rise above and be seen as they are: people who have jobs, families; people who live without being pushed into a box.

Although the subject matter signifies the development of t? moko as a contemporary art form - it has its place in the renaissance of Maori art - its aim is to counteract the fascination held by international media and popular culture with stereotypical portrayals of M?ori wearing ‘fierce’ facial tattoo, repeatedly highlighting a public misrepresentation of the art form.

Smaller showings and productions of Serena’s work have reached international audiences through magazines, film festivals, the National Geographic Channel and tattoo festivals in the Pacific and in Europe. However, this is the first time for the exhibition to be shown in its entirety and to a New Zealand audience.

I wish to use this powerful statement of identity as a metaphor for the celebration of difference and uniqueness to all that view and experience the work.

Face Value and my experiences of M?ori culture over the past eight years has enhanced the direction of my work; the development of this project has pushed my boundaries as an artist.

CREDITS

Face Value

Photography and film by Serena Giovanna Stevenson

Project administration collaborator and writer: Naomi Singer

Face Value 38min Film (2008)

Director: Serena Giovanna Stevenson

Producer: Serena Giovanna Stevenson

Editor: Joseph Jowitt

Grade: Leon Woods

Graphics: Jon Chapman-Smith

Sound production: Mike Hodgson

Title music: Whai Atu by Paddy Free featuring Waimihi Hotere, from Karekare: Te Reo O Te Whenua, www.paddyfree.com

Music: Whirimako Black, Katchafire, J. Harry Long, Unity Pacific, Ladi6, Shapeshifter, DLT, Chris Anderton, Antonio Te Maioha, Dimos Nikolis, Alistair Galbraith.

Funding:

Screen Innovation Production Fund

Roy W. Dean Documentary Grant

Stories contributed by:

Turumakina Duley - Tuhoe, Ng?ti Awa, Ngaiterangi, Ng?ti Hokop?

Mark Kopua - Ng?ti Ira, Te Aitanga ? Hauiti, Ng?ti Porou

Melanie Duley - Tuhoe, Ng?ti Awa, Ngaiterangi, Ng?ti Hokop?

Mera Penehira - Ng?ti Raukawa ki Otaki, Rangit?ne

Christine Harvey - Rekohu, Taranaki

Hori (George) Tamihana Nuku - Ng?ti Kahungunu

Haki Williams -  Ng?ti Manunui

Tia Taurere – Ng? Puhi

Bruce Hereora -  Ng? Puhi, descended from Pakeha

Shane Jones - Pipiwharauroa

All the whanau (families) of the individuals involved.

Face Value was first shown at Pataka Museum, Porirua

Toured by Exhibition Services Ltd http://exhibitionservices.co.nz/exhibitiontours/show/face

All images © Serena Giovanna Stevenson

All t? moko designs © the artists

All text © Serena Giovanna Stevenson and Naomi Singer

www.serenastevenson.com

www.serenastevenson.com/Facevalue.html

For further information on Serena or the exhibition, high res images, contact: serena@serenastevenson.co.nz