Lies and Madness @ The Framing Workshop

For this installation artist Karl Chitham has chosen to re-imagine a curious description found in a journal in the MOTH archives. The extract suggests that a wayward sailor established himself in a dense bush area of the Mangakahia Valley, Northland in the late 1840s. 

Calling himself Kingi, he set about building a series of unusual cliff top dwellings he referred to as the ‘estates’. Along with a rather dubious family history he also told local Maori that he had been sent by the Queen as the new monarch of New Zealand. Needless to say it is unlikely anyone took him seriously.

Lies and Madness was on display from 3-31 October 2014. 

Skeletons @ Pearce Gallery

Once again MOTH has invited Karl Chitham to collaborate as part of the One Day Wonder 2013 series at Pearce Gallery, Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. 

Curated by Jill Sorenson the series, collectively titled Parallel Universe, engaged with artists’ networks, taking as it's subject the artist-made structures that challenge, support, create or supersede the status quo of the art world.

Over the season, six groups of artists who work together in some way, from loose networks to shared studios or artist run spaces, have been invited to partake in a one day research oriented exhibition/event in which they investigate/ play with/ critique the creative interplays and tensions innate in working together.

Skeletons took place on 3 May 2013. Images courtesy of www.artsdiary.co.nz