Zena Elliott (Ngati Awa, Te Whanau Apanui, Te Arawa)

Focusing on raunchy humour and immature one-liners the atmosphere of these works reek with the funky residue of a spilled bottle of Jack Daniels on an overdue painting assignment.

Wouldn't it be kool if you didn't need to think too hard when it came to experiencing art? You just thought "Holy fuck that's kool!" When it came to explaining a piece of art to your mates you didn't talk about issues like "the juxtapositioning of unconventional materials and the use of highly sophisticated techniques" - You just said "check it out - that shit's wicked".

Focusing on raunchy humour and immature one-liners the atmosphere of these works reek with the funky residue of a spilled bottle of Jack Daniels on an overdue painting assignment. Hideously pulsating tongues smear minimalist backgrounds while stylised text indulges itself in social satire.

These works are driven by pictorial representations of contemporary sub-cultures. I often employ humour and parody while referencing the vernacular of rock music, cartoons and graffiti. I am interested in exploring the formation of cultural identity and notions of cultural expectation. Zena Elliott 2004

Zean Elliott was a Wintec Honours graduate in 2001 Neoteric features four fine arts graduates: Emily Armstrong, Chin-Yi Chu, Zena Elliott, Marcus Hipa at Whitespace until Feb 13

contact Deborah White 1 Morgan St, Newmarket, Auckland Tel 524 0644

www.whitespace.co.nz dwhite@whitespace.co.nz