CLOSE UR EYES, MAKE A WISH Film screening and artist talk

Sunday 21 March, 7pm
Blue Oyster Art Project Space

Feel the grass, kissing the wind.

"CLOSE UR EYES, MAKE A WISH is a poem I wrote in 2020 which I have also used as a script for this film. This poem and film responds to my combatting feelings of love and mourning between my relationships to gender and my natural surroundings. Feeling grounded and a part of this ecosystem is directly linked to my sense of wellbeing. This work is an articulation of how I, as a nonbinary person, am interconnected with my own time and place." - Connor Fitzgerald

Followed by a discussion with Connor Fitzgerald and Louie Zalk-Neale about queerness, nature, and their exhibition at Blue Oyster Art Project Space. 

GLOSSY LEAF kiss
Connor Fitzgerald & Louie Zalk-Neale
Exhibition runs: 4 March – 10 April 2021

This event is part of Dunedin Fringe Festival and supported by Creative New Zealand.

Louie Zalk-Neale (Ngāi Te Rangi, Pākehā) is a queer artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, originally from Hokitika. Louie grounds their practice in bodily adornment created from found and natural materials, making reference to clothing while inviting adaptive usage. By activating these material explorations in interactive performances and re-imagining them in images, Louie allows space for their audience to critically observe and embody the absurdity of normalised experiences; with LGBTQI+ traditions and Mātauranga Māori supporting their practice.

Louie’s work has recently featured at Artspace Aotearoa’s New Artists Show (Tāmaki Makaurau 2020); Critical Costume Conference (Norway 2020); Shared Lines Collective at Birdo Flugas Gallery Sendai (Japan) and Kaikōura (2019); and at MEANWHILE in Te Whanganui-a-Tara where they are currently a board member.
Instagram: @louiemole

Connor Fitzgerald is a nonbinary artist based in Te Whanganui-A-Tara, with a multi-disciplinary practice in video, writing and installation. They let their experience as a transfeminine person lead the direction of their research. Centring themself within the wider context of their surroundings opens opportunity for their creative output to be a process for grounding.

Connor has recently been in the group show 2+2+2 at Precinct 35, 2020. Solo show What is Faith Without Doubt? at Clearview Gallery 2020. They have a BFA from Massey University and are a current staff member of Gender Minorities Aotearoa and is a facilitator at play_station.
Instagram: @connor.tation