Wayne Youle (born 1974 in Titahi Bay, Porirua) is a New Zealand artist of Ngapuhi, Ngati Whakaeke and Ngati Pakeha descent. His

bicultural Biculturalism in sociology describes the co-existence, to varying degrees, of two originally distinct cultures. Official policy recognizing, fostering, or encouraging biculturalism typically emerges in countries that have emerged from a histo ...

heritage is reflected in his work, addressing issues of identity, race and the commodification of cultural symbols. He often uses humour to make his point. Youle's work is held in national museums and public galleries. He lives and works in Amberley, New Zealand.http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/node/26967 The Big Idea, New Zealand.

Career, themes and style

In 1999, Youle received a

Bachelor of Design A Bachelor of Design (B.Des. or B.Design) degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree in the field of design awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. It is the undergraduate equivalent of the Master of Design, ...

, majoring in typography, from Wellington Polytechnic Design School, New Zealand. His graduate show featured the words ''cultural blindness test'' in a series of diminishing letters like those on an optician's chart. His work incorporates clean lines, shapes, symbols and typography, repetition and recurrent motifs using a variety of materials and new technologies in 3D objects, sculpture, installation, graphite and ink drawings, photography, painting and tattooing.Caughey E. "Contemporary New Zealand art 5." David Bateman 2008, p54 – 57.Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures education resources, 2009. Youle's works explore historical and current perceptions of Maori culture to question stereotypes and cultural traditions. For example, in ''Twelve Shades of Bullshit'', silhouettes have been created in various shades of brown from illustrations of Maori drawn by early European explorers and artists. The work explores historical representations of Maori in New Zealand art and also comment on the various skin colours of contemporary Maori after 160 years of intermarriage. Hongi Hika

Since 2013, Youle has created a number of brightly coloured, stencil-like portraits. Originally based on existing photographs of deceased New Zealand artists, the series has expanded to include portraits of New Zealand and international characters living, historical and fictional. Among those depicted include

Frances Hodgkins Frances Mary Hodgkins (28 April 1869 – 13 May 1947) was a New Zealand painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born and raised in New Zealand, but spent most of her working ...

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Len Lye Leonard Charles Huia Lye (; 5 July 1901 – 15 May 1980) was a New Zealand artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives including the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, M ...

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, Michael King, Magic Johnson, E.T. and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. A catalogue illustrating a selection of the portraits was released by Publishing in 2015. This catalogue accompanied Youle's solo presentation '9:54 , 3:49' with Gallery at Sydney Contemporary 2015, where portraits of Stephen Hawking, Lindy Chamberlain and Sidney Nolan were exhibited. Youle references the influence of other New Zealand artists in his work including

Gordon Walters Gordon Frederick Walters (24 September 1919 – 5 November 1995) was a Wellington-born artist and graphic designer who is significant to New Zealand culture due to his representation of New Zealand in his Modern Abstract artworks. Education ...

Billy Apple Billy Apple (born Barrie Bates; 31 December 19356 September 2021) was a New Zealand/USA artist, whose work is associated with the British and New York schools of pop art in the 1960s and NY's Conceptual Art movement in the 1970s. He worked alo ...

, Shane Cotton, Peter Robinson,

Ronnie van Hout Ronnie van Hout (born 22 January 1962) is a New Zealand artist, living in Melbourne, Australia. He works across a wide variety of media including sculpture, video, painting, photography, embroidery, and sound recordings. Early life and education ...

and

Michael Parekowhai Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, and Ricky Swallow of Australia.

Symbols

Skulls

Youle's work features skulls based on tattoo designs, symbols of identification and belonging, for example, to gangs. Youle was inspired by his grandfather's tattoos, identifying him as a sailor. He also studies the historical origins and expressions of ta moko (permanent body and face markings of Māori). The head is tapu (sacred) in Maori culture. In ''Skully Pops'' (2004) Youle depicts

mokomokai Mokomokai, or Toi moko, are the preserved heads of Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, where the faces have been decorated by tā moko tattooing. They became valuable trade items during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century. Moko M ...

(ancient preserved heads), as inviting, bright coloured lollies that at the same time are an anathema to eat.

Koru

The

koru The ''koru'' () is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the id ...

motif depicts the shape of the unfurling

silver fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

. In ''The Icon 500'', Youle invited controversy by adapting the koru to the swastika to illustrate the origin of the swastika as a symbol of good will and challenge the way audiences can bring negative references with them. He called the work, ''This is not a swastika nor is it a Walters''.

Hei Tiki

Youle's ''Often Liked, Occasionally Beaten'' (2004), consisting of multi-coloured resin

tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden, ...

(the figure of the first man) on lollipop sticks, comments on the commercialisation of Maori

taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Maori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current d ...

, mass production of Maori souvenirs and the cultural appropriation of Maori art. (Since the 1960s, plastic hei tiki have become a part of New Zealand popular culture, often regarded as one of the great

kiwiana Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood" in ...

icons). The title of the work is a political play on the local Frosty Boy ice cream marketing catchphrase, ''Often liked, never beaten'' while alluding to the social issue of family violence.

Artist residences

In 2010, Youle was the recipient of the Rita Angus Artist Residency hosted by the Wellington Institute of Technology's School of Creative Technologies. His exhibition ''One Step Forward, One Step Back'' was undertaken during this time. In various media, Youle studied the relationship between the Maori and the Pakeha (Europeans), focussing on the effect of the introduction of technology on the Maori, specifically the tribes of the Wellington region. In 2011, Youle was selected as Wellesley College's first artist-in-residence. During his month at Wellesley in Days Bay, Wellington, he created 13 paintings and a series of sculptures. He also made a number of initiatives to raise primary school aged students creative interests. In 2012, Youle was awarded the SCAPE/Artspace Christchurch Artist Residency at the Artspace Visual arts centre, Sydney. This body of work showcases Youle's pop-artist style depicting an array of subject matter for example, historical relations with Sydney's indigenous population, skulls, half naked men and women's breasts. Using strips of sign vinyl and dot painting on the surfaces of a range of found photographs, historic paintings and other ephemera, the works were presented in ''You be Fact, I Be Fiction''.

Selected works

* ''What Do You Say Savages'' (2011) is a set of 43 A2 size prints. Each one represents an item offered to the Maori in exchange for land under the Port Nicholson Deed. In 2013, this work was purchased by the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa. * ''I seem to have temporarily misplaced my sense of humour'' (2012), an outdoor mural presented by Christchurch Art Gallery and Gap Filler. The work is about the losses and the giving during the

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

earthquakes of February 2011: a giant nail board is marked with the silhouettes of tools such as hammers, saws, wrenches and unusual objects such as a security camera, a classical bust and a small dog. * ''Plenty More'' (2012), an installation about the spiritual and physical loss of chattels: a number of domestic tables support more than 200 hand-thrown ceramic bowls created and accumulated by the artist over a period of 12 months. * ''Flauntatiousness, the art car'' (2013) for SCAPE 7 Public Art Christchurch Biennial: a mobile artwork presents the artists of SCAPE 7 as ‘brands’ in the manner of high-performance motor-racing teams. Emblazoned alongside are sponsor logos and tongue in cheek comments on the current environment.

Solo exhibitions

* 2017 ''Look mum no hands'', Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Christchurch, New Zealand (opening April 2017) * 2017 ''Strangely Familiar'', New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (opening April 2017) * 2016 ''Bad Idea'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2016 ''The best stories ever told (revisited)'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2015 ''9:54 , 3:49'', at Sydney Contemporary 2015, Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia * 2015 ''Wayne Youle'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2014 ''Vacancies'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2013 ''You be Fact, I'll be Fiction'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2013 ''So they say...'', Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga, New Zealand * 2012 ''Fingers Crossed'', Deane and Hirschfield Galleries, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand * 2012 ''Make Pretend'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2011 ''One Step Forward, One Step Back'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2011 '' "!?"...:)' '', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2010 ''It's The Simple Things'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2010 ''10 Down'', Pataka Museum of Arts & Cultures, Porirua, New Zealand * 2009 ''A Darker Kind of Light Heartedness'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2005 ''The Icon 500'', The Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand

Group exhibitions

* 2015 ''Cut + Paste: The Practice of Collage'', The Dowse, Wellington, New Zealand * 2013 ''SCAPE 7 Public Art Christchurch Biennial'', Christchurch, New Zealand * 2012 ''Never Mind the Pollocks'', , Wellington, New Zealand * 2011 ''Auckland Art Fair'', , Auckland, New Zealand * 2010 ''Melbourne Art Fair'', Tim Melville, Melbourne, Australia * 2009 ''Close Encounters'', Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, United States of America * 2008 ''Another NZ Another United State'', Mexico City, Tokyo, United States of America * 2007 ''Winners are Grinners'', PICA, Perth, Australia * 2006 ''Pasifika Styles'', University of Cambridge, United Kingdom * 2005 ''Hei Tiki'', Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2001 ''Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age'', City Gallery Wellington & Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, Porirua, New Zealand

Public collections in New Zealand

Youle has works in collections including: * Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington * Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Christchurch * Wellington City Council Collection, Wellington, New Zealand * Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland * James Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland * Real Art Roadshow, Wanaka"Wayne Youle curriculum vitae."
Suite website, New Zealand. Accessed 16 January 2014.

References

External links

"View examples of Wayne Youle's works"

"Christchurch Art Gallery visits Wayne Youle in his studio"
Published 15 December 2015 by Christchurch Art Gallery.
"If you've got it flaunt it."
The Big Idea, September 2013.
5th Triennial of Auckland
Eye Contact, July 2013.
Artwork displayed on Sydenham wall
Christchurch City Council 2011.
Wayne Youle
Pasifika Styles, University of Cambridge, England.
"Artist's work explores NZ post-colonial Identity"
Te Karere Maori News, on YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Youle, Wayne 1974 births Living people New Zealand artists People from Porirua