Untitled. From the series 'Lounge room tribalism'

This essay originally appeared in New Zealand Art at Te Papa (Te Papa Press, 2018).

Within a stylish white interior and against a receding polished floor, a diverse range of artworks and designer furniture occupy Graham Fletcher’s modern lounge. A colourful mobile in the style of American sculptor Alexander Calder hangs from the high ceiling. On one wall sits a reproduction of Pablo Picasso’s Child with a dove, 1901. Just beyond, a monumental carving of a stylised female figure stands frontally, breastfeeding a child, who stares out at the viewer.

The Untitled paintings comprising the series ‘Lounge room tribalism’ represent the culmination of years of research and practice. In part, they are inspired by his exploration of the intersection of Pacific cultures and art forms with modern and surrealist art. The motivations of iconic figures like Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Max Ernst, who all collected indigenous art and referenced it in their works, informs Fletcher’s art practice. The carving in Untitled gives a subtle nod to surrealism. It is taken from a 1942 Hermann Landshoff photograph of Ernst, who stands alongside it in his studio with a Northwest Coast form on his other side. The influence of Fletcher’s early series, including ‘Mistint’ of 1998, ‘Stigma’ of 1999 and ‘Wallflowers’ of 2000, which experimented with painterly materiality as well as the nuances of his Sāmoan heritage and the rich legacy of cross-cultural encounter and exchange, can also be seen. But it was a chance visit to an art collector’s home in the early 2000s, and the contents of her eclectically sourced lounge, that provided the spark from which Fletcher brought together his diverse interests and concerns.

‘Lounge room tribalism’ mines the familiar territory of ‘home’, creating a series of domestic spaces that evoke the minimalist simplicity of 1960s interior design magazines, always uninhabited yet rich with references to their inhabitants’ tastes, interests and eccentricities. On first view, the groupings of furnishings and objets d’art suggest a random approach. Closer reading, however, highlights Fletcher’s finely tuned eye for aesthetic detail and an informed understanding not only of the objects’ original contexts, but also the conversations that have taken place over time between the decontextualised forms and their loaded representations.

Caroline Vercoe