Kalisolaite ‘Uhila is a Tongan-born New Zealand award-winning

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

Biography

Kalisolaite ‘Uhila was born in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in 1981, and is based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. 'Uhila began as a print maker, completing his Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2010. He then moved into being a performance artist and completed a Master of Performance and Media Arts in 2016, for which his thesis was entitled: ''Maumau-taimi: Wasting Time; Being Useless''. 'Uhila's performances have been wide ranging, including "living in a shipping container with a pig for a week,... performing on the roof of a gallery to bemused spectators in adjacent high-rise buildings and the street below, and 'cooking' himself in an umu." His most famous work, ''Mo'ui tukuhausia,'' involved him sleeping rough at Te Tuhi Gallery (2012) and Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery (2014), for which he was a finalist for the

Walters Prize The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand ab ...

in 2014. In 2015, ''Ongo Mei Moana'' saw 'Uhila spend six-hours a day conducting the tide of

Oriental Bay, Wellington The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

. In 2019, he performed at the Second Honolulu Biennial. In 2020, 'Uhila was featured in Robert George's movie ''I Am the Moment,'' which competed in the Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival. The film featured 'Uhila's work in Tokyo while in residency at Youkobo Art Space in 2018. In 2022, he performed ''Mother Man'' with his nephew, at the Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery, which reinterpreted "Tongan gender roles enacted in ritual and ceremonial events which govern interactions." From 2023-2024, he also worked in New York City and Heretaunga Hastings. In 2024, 'Uhila performed ''Kelekele Mo‘ui (Living Soil)'' at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery.

Awards and residencies

He has been the recipient of a number of awards and residencies including: * Finalist for

, 2014, for ''Mo'ui tukuhausia'' * ZK/U & Ifa Galerie Residency, Berlin, 2016 * Contemporary Pacific Art Award,

Arts Pasifika Awards The Arts Pasifika Awards celebrate excellence in Pacific arts in New Zealand. The annual awards are administered by Creative New Zealand and are the only national awards for Pasifika artists across all artforms. The Arts Pasifika Awards includ ...

, 2017 * Montalvo Arts Centre Residency, California * Youkobo Art Space Residency, Tokyo, 2018 *

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as ...

’s Aotearoa New Zealand Visiting Artist, 2019 * Harriet Friedlander Residency,

Arts Foundation of New Zealand The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The foundatio ...

, 2021

References

{{Reflist Living people New Zealand performance artists Tongan artists 1981 births Auckland University of Technology alumni