from elsewhere is the first in a new series of dialogue exhibitions at Te Uru that connect local and international artists. This exhibition brings together the practices of Australian-born, South African/Mauritian artist Newell Harry (b.1972) and Aotearoa-born artist Peter Simpson (b.1990, Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Indian, Pākehā). Both artists contend with dominant histories in their work through research-led practices and the modification and re-presentation of salvaged material. 

The exhibition title is drawn from a quote in philosopher Franz Fanon’s 1961 book The Wretched of the Earth: ‘The governing race is first and foremost those who come from elsewhere, those who are unlike the original inhabitants, “the others.”’ In this astute observation, ‘otherness’ refers subversively to settler colonialism. Fundamentally, this quote addresses the movement of peoples and ideas around the world, emphasising the very notion of being ‘from elsewhere’ and the often irreconcilable differences that arise as a consequence. For Harry and Simpson, observing movements between contexts is a way to map the history and politics of cross-cultural junction.