PERSONAL GROWTH

MIKE TING

8 - 30 SEPTEMBER

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Personal Growth considers the fragility of masculinity within a New Zealand context. The artist uses expanding foam in his video performance, a material often found in construction or D.I.Y and a material that is extremely difficult to get off when brought into direct contact with skin. Squirting this loaded material into a pair of rugby shorts, Ting enacts a questioning of masculinity and toxicity. The work plays on the a prevalent do-it-yourself attitude praised in Aotearoa, Ting twists it to make it absurd. This work taps into the anxieties that form the identities of New Zealand "blokes," as well as raising questions about the pressure to conform. The tender and vulnerable action is humorous in its attempt.