Captain Cook finds land and loses his breeches: Lisa Reihana on her video epic

The leading New Zealand artist explains why she turned the explorer into a woman – and relives the time her friend threw a wet T-shirt at the Queen

One day several years ago, Lisa Reihana was walking through a Canberra museum with her partner when something caught his eye. It was a set of French woodblock designs for wallpaper dating from the 19th century, depicting the colonial encounters of Captain Cook. They were called Savages of the Pacific Ocean.

The New Zealand artist bought the catalogue but thought little more of it until she was commissioned to make a super-wide video projection and was casting around for ideas. “I came across the catalogue,” she says, “and thought, ‘Eureka! I just need to bring this to life.’”

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OXA49J
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