Explore memory, place, and change in Alta (2016-2024), Marc Blake's immersive exhibition. Featuring eight years of photographs centered on a solitary basketball hoop in Queenstown's Kawarau Falls Park, this dreamlike installation invites reflection on memory, isolation and transformation. Exhibition opening: Thursday 20 March, 5:30pm

Alta (2016-2024) is an exhibition by Marc Blake that explores memory, place and change, set against the shifting social and environmental landscape of his neighbourhood in Frankton, Queenstown. Featuring selected images from eight years of photographs centred on a solitary basketball hoop in Kawarau Falls Park, this exhibition invites viewers to navigate a dreamlike "forest" of images and reflect on themes of memory, isolation and transformation.

Alta (2016-2024) combines personal experience with broader societal narratives in a dynamic and immersive installation.

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About Marc Blake:

Marc Blake’s practice has increasingly unified around an open response to his environment and experiences, primarily painting-driven, yet moving beyond any singular process, or technique.  Since the early 2000s, Blake’s parallel exploration of painting, photography, and digital imagery has evolved, with each of these mediums now interwoven and re-examined in his current work.  Rather than focusing on "how" or "why" a piece is created, Blake often reflects on the "when"—the significance of creating and presenting a particular work at this moment in time.

Blake describes his approach as an attempt to “organise and distil the increasingly overwhelming amount of information encountered in life—our personal experiences, collective cultural and societal existence, and the vast visual and historical record.” His work seeks to express both personal and universal connections, capturing experiences that shift in meaning with different contexts and perspectives. This intention underscores his practice as he navigates ways to express how he and ultimately his audience, fit into these unique and shared narratives.  

Marc Blake was born in Auckland and after graduating Auckland University spent a decade living in Japan, Australia and South Korea, before returning to live in New Zealand.  He currently works in Central Otago, where he lives with his wife and their young son.  Marc has been a recipient of and multiple finalist in several national awards, including winning the Supreme Award at the 2023 Craigs Aspiring Art Prize.  During his time in Japan from 2002-2006, Marc completed a studio residency and exhibition at BankART NYK Yokohama, as well as exhibiting at Arts Council Koganecho and the Kyoto Cultural Museum.  His work has also been shown at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and The Dowse Art Museum.  Recent solo exhibitions include “On Canvas”, Aotearoa Art Fair (2023) and ‘Like Pleasures of the World”, Alexandra Museum (2023).  Marc’s work is held in numerous collections in New Zealand and abroad, including the Craigs Investment Partners collection and 16 works held in the Arts House Trust collection.  

A strong advocate for art as a unifying force that transforms and unites communities and fosters cultural discourse, Blake has been responsible for numerous influential curatorial projects and independent opportunities for artists in Queenstown Lakes since 2019.

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Image: Marc Blake, "Sunday, 31 October 2021 at 5:43 PM”, UV curable ink on Dibond aluminium, 594 x 420mm

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This exhibition is presented in association with Superpartner, Arrowtown.

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