“The Land Of Myths And Legends / The Artist Is Kind Of Present: Part III”, 2019.

The Land of Myths and Legends, which is the third and final part of The Artist Is Kind of Present following on from Part I and Part II, is a series of work examining identity, fame (and what you do with it), addiction, mortality, cultural heritage, music, legacy, and having a sense of purpose or duty.

The Land of Myths and Legends series is a selection of objects relating to a musician’s life and body of work, this musician’s name is Sue Relo, who’s band is ‘Shark Infested Waters’. 

Sue’s life is a reimaging of the story of Hercules and his twelve labours. 

The labours Sue undertakes is to spread ideals of community and morality throughout Aotearoa. Each labour’s moral comes from a significant moment or action in the life of a deceased member of the community.

Aotearoa is a semi mythical representation of the north island of New Zealand.

As Hercules was plagued by the consequences of his actions, so too is Sue plagued, taking the form of addiction. 

Aotearoa has arrived at a monumental period in it’s young history where the indigenous (Maori) culture is at a tipping point, either to be embraced as a integral part of Aotearoan cultural heritage or to be forgotten and all that remains is songs that won’t be heard and carvings that can’t be read. 

The time period is not dissimilar to that of now in New Zealand but has a sense of familiarity to the time proceeding the discovery of the ‘New World’ (North America) .

The Land of Myths and Legends is comprised of three key elements of fictioning; the individual, the community, and the environment. 

The Land of Myths and Legends attempts to ask the question:

“How would you want to be remembered when you are gone?”