Te Pumanawa o te Whenua - Beat Connection

Hamiltonians have gathered at Claudelands in a spirit of excitement since 1887 when the land was first cleared for a racetrack. The region’s first A&P shows, forerunners of the Fieldays, were conducted on this site. Today, the function centre hosts music, entertainment, sporting and cultural events and is the first venue in the city capable of containing international-scale attractions.

Te Pumanawa O Te Whenua – Beat Connection

“The form of this work is taken from a heart beat graph. The idea is to present a visualization from our inner body- from the heart. It comes from my thinking about the purpose of the Claudelands Centre and the activities of sports, concerts, conventions etc that will take place there; the excitement and emotions that are experienced with our heart and body. It may also describe the life of the site and what has gone before, together with the current heartbeat of the building. In this way I see the building as its own living identity that interacts with those who use the facilities and visit. In the same way the sculpture is intended to reach out to visitors, as it will be sit-able and slide-able, visually inviting people to connect with it. This idea relates to my previous works, as it seeks to visualize something that is inside, invisible, the guts, infrastructure and the force of what is beneath or concealed”. Seung Yul Oh 2011

Seung Yul Oh holds a Masters degree from Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland and has earned a high profile as an exhibitor both in New Zealand and overseas. Many of his artworks make allusion to the dynamics of the human body, its movements, textures and rhythms, and are characterised by a captivating sense of humour.

Seung’s playful, mischievous works have been exhibited at The New Dowse, Te Papa Tongarewa and The Melbourne Art Fair and his first public artwork, Globgob, was commissioned by the Newmarket Business Association in 2010 for installation on Auckland’s Teed St. He received the Waikato National Contemporary Art award in 2005 and took up the prestigious Harriet Friedlander Residency in 2011.

Before work commenced on the sculpture’s installation, Seung buried a personal item in the earth beneath the site, establishing a connection between himself, the artwork and the land.

Seung Yul Oh is represented by Starkwhite Gallery