<p><strong>Dane Mitchell</strong><br />
<em>Iris, Iris, Iris&nbsp;</em>2017<br />
Installation view: &quot;MAM Project 024: Dane Mitchell,&quot; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2017<br />
Photo courtesy of the artist</p>

Dane Mitchell
Iris, Iris, Iris 2017
Installation view: "MAM Project 024: Dane Mitchell," Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2017
Photo courtesy of the artist

Tuesday 7 August 2018

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki presents Iris, Iris, Iris, a solo exhibition by New Zealand’s representative to the 2019 Venice Biennale, Dane Mitchell, from Saturday 1 September.

Dane Mitchell’s Iris, Iris, Iris is the result of recent research into scent production, from traditional Japanese incense to the latest fragrance technologies. The multi-part installation explores diverse meanings of the word ‘iris:’ the name of a flower, the coloured part of an eye, the adjustable aperture of a camera and Greek mythology’s rainbow goddess. It features aroma molecule extraction technology, combining the ‘invisible’ materials of incense and perfume with items related to the act of seeing.

An exhibition of artworks from the Gallery’s international contemporary art collection that reflect Mitchell’s interests will be presented alongside Iris, Iris, Iris.

Auckland Art Gallery Director, Rhana Devenport says the Gallery is excited to host a new exhibition by Mitchell. ‘Iris, Iris, Iris provides a timely opportunity for our audiences to familiarise themselves with Dane’s work, an exceptional New Zealand artist who has for over 20 years explored ideas related to invisible or unseen forces at play in our lives.’

The Gallery’s Curator, Contemporary Art, Natasha Conland adds: ‘This exhibition is a wonderful example of how Mitchell combines the beautiful and the austere in a laboratory-like environment built to test these non-visual systems. This installation carefully intertwines the cultural and historical contexts of the exhibition partners, Auckland Art Gallery and Mori Art Museum, and encourages visitors in the act of deciphering connections between sensory experiences.’

Mitchell says: ‘This body of work considers the entanglement of our senses, specifically the ocular and the olfactory. The iris in its multiple forms – as plant, as body part, as technology, as myth – is employed as a poetic device to make connections between two ways we encounter the world: through the eye and through the nose.’

Iris, Iris, Iris was curated by Zara Stanhope, former Head of Curatorial, Auckland Art Gallery, and Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.

The exhibition was co-commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery and Mori Art Museum, with support from Creative New Zealand’s Asia/New Zealand Co-commissioning Fund. Production support was kindly provided by Shoyeido Incense Co. and Takasago International Corporation. Additional support for the Auckland exhibition was provided by Auckland Art Gallery’s Contemporary Benefactors.

For images and interviews contact:

Samantha McKegg, Communications Officer, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
+64 21 548 480
samantha.mckegg@aucklandartgallery.com

Artist bio:

Dane Mitchell (born 1976, Auckland)

Dane Mitchell’s work has been included in major group exhibitions worldwide including: Sydney Biennale (2016); Klontal Triennale, Künsthaus Glarus, Switzerland (2014); Liverpool Biennial (2012); Gwangju Biennale (2012); Singapore Biennial (2011); and Busan Biennale (2010). 

He has participated in residency programmes at Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin (2011); Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth (2010); Berliner Künstlerprogramm DAAD, Berlin (2009/2010); and Gasworks, London (2008). 

Recent solo exhibitions include: Dane Mitchell, Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbanne, France (2018); All Whatness is Wetness, RaebervonStenglin, Zürich (2015); Fourfold Threshold, Encounters, Art Basel Hong Kong (2015); Other Explications, Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland (2013); Conservation of Mass, RaebervonStenglin, Zürich (2013); Radiant Matter III, Artspace, Auckland (2011); Radiant Matter II, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin (2011); Radiant Matter I, Govett-Brewster Art
Gallery, New Plymouth (2011); and Minor Optics, daadgalerie, Berlin (2009).

Mitchell will be representing New Zealand at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.

Exhibition details:

Iris, Iris, Iris
When: Saturday 1 September to Sunday 24 February 2018 
           10am – 5pm daily except Christmas Day

Gallery admission:

New Zealand residents FREE (with proof of residency)
Members and Members Guests FREE (with valid Members card)
Children 12 & under FREE
International adults $20
International students $17 (with ID)

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