The Climate Art Vandals Are Embarrassing

Art

The Climate Art Vandals Are Embarrassing

Published

1 year ago

October 27, 2022

Harry Miller

Earlier this month, two young people visiting room 43 of the National Gallery in London shed overcoats to reveal T-shirts printed with the name of their activist group, JUST STOP OIL. Then they poured tomato soup across one of Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings, turned around, and glued their hands to the wall. “What is worth more: art or life?” one of the activists asked. “Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”

Then it happened again, and again. Last weekend, two activists associated with Letzte Generation, a German climate-activist group, splattered mashed potatoes across a Claude Monet painting of haystacks on display in the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, and glued their hands to the wall. This morning in The Hague, another pair of Just Stop Oil protesters mixed it up: One activist appeared to glue his own head to Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring, and the other poured tomato soup over him.

If these protests outrage or upset you, well, that’s the point. As one of the German activists put it: “We are in a climate catastrophe, and all you are afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes on a painting.” The protesters want to piss you off, because, hey, why aren’t you just as pissed off about the climate crisis? Climate activism has entered its shock—or is it schlock?—era.

But set aside that somewhat sociopathic logic for a moment. There’s something poignant and undeniably resonant about the first two incidents in particular, in which activists raised in the 21st century attacked some of the most famous cultural heritage of the 19th century. Climate change, after all, implicates a particular vision of middle-class prosperity—a vision of paved roads, bustling factories, and coal-fired power plants—that took shape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And the impressionists, who stood in sunlit fields and on Parisian balconies and captured the feeling of industrial modernity breaking into the world like a yolk from a shell, are as linked to that vision as the automobile. No wonder climate activists, the rebels of this century, are targeting them.

That doesn’t justify the vandalism. Nor does it resemble how the activists themselves have talked about their actions. The aim of Just Stop Oil and Letzte Generation has been to wheedle people for not caring more about the climate crisis. Yet even if one were inclined to defend their tactics—and argue, for example, that the activists showed admirable restraint by choosing to defile paintings that were protected by a pane of glass—the protests still fail on their own terms.

James Ozden, a researcher who runs the Social Change Lab, in London, is one of the most prominent early supporters of the protests. In a widely shared Substack post, he has argued that empirical evidence supports the approach—or at least does not suggest that it is harmful to the broader fight against climate change. Just Stop Oil epitomizes what he calls the “radical flank effect,” “where more radical factions of a social movement can increase support for more moderate factions.” He cites a handful of studies showing that radical flanks may increase donations, mobilization, and political support for the moderate arm of a movement.

But when I looked closely at these studies, they didn’t seem to have much bearing on the soup protests. In an experiment from one of the studies that Ozden mentions, researchers asked online respondents about their views on animal cruelty, had them read accounts of a “radical” and a “moderate” activist group’s views and protest tactics, and then polled them on their views again. The moderate-group account described a campaign of peaceful mass protests against factory farming, and the radical-group account described something far more disruptive: Vegans had blocked traffic and “doused streets and meat-delivery trucks with the blood and entrails of animals slaughtered in factory farms … and in some cases advocated violence against animal farmers.” The online respondents said they thought better of the moderate factions after reading about the radicals. (This is, I should note, not exactly an enthusiastic endorsement of radical tactics.)

Ozden also refers to a study from last year, which included an experiment comparing the effects of two different protests against racist policing. In the first, Black activists held peaceful marches and sit-ins; in the second, “a large portion of the African American community” refused to pay tickets and fines to the police. The study found that white people who identified strongly with being white were more likely to endorse concessions to the movement after reading about the latter protest. The lesson of both studies, according to Ozden, is that a mix of disruptive and conventional protest tactics can work better—in the sense of increasing support for the broader cause—than the standard activist repertoire of demonstrations, sit-ins, and marches can alone.

But even if we stipulate that finicky social-science experiments have something to tell us about politics, Ozden isn’t making the point that he thinks he is. In the experiments described above (and in almost all of the others cited in his blog post), the “radical” activists directed their aggressive and even violent tactics toward the group causing their grievance. The animal-rights radicals targeted meat and leather producers, for instance, not elementary schools. The Black activists went on a ticketing strike against police departments, not the IRS. And the radical climate activists in another experiment advocated for violence and vandalism against fossil-fuel companies, as opposed to impressionist painters, museum curators, or members of the art-viewing public. (Even before the mashed-potatoes-on-Monet incident, Ozden wrote a follow-up post recognizing that the first protest may have lacked an “action logic”—a harmony of tactics and target that would help onlookers understand its nature and purpose. “I’m quite unsure if it was overall good or bad for the climate movement,” he wrote.)

This lack of connective logic has irked many otherwise sympathetic climate advocates. “Regardless of whether you think protests like this are effective or not—and as a climate scientist, I’ve spent 30 years on this issue, so my sympathies are with the protesters, of course—I find it weird to target museums and nonprofits that help all of us,” Jonathan Foley, the executive director of the climate nonprofit Project Drawdown, told me. Foley is an influential environmental scientist who has studied the planet’s ecological boundaries and deforestation, but he also knows something about museums: From 2014 to 2018, he led the California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco, one of the largest science museums in the world. And the protests worry him.

It’s true that the targeted paintings were protected by glass panes—but those panes aren’t designed to protect against seeping liquids (or whatever mashed potatoes are), Foley said. They keep out ultraviolet light and dust. Nor are museum-security staff prepared for the challenge of patting down every potential visitor for wayward appetizers, which is what insurance companies will now likely demand, he said. Furthermore, because staging protests at art museums has now happened a few times, he said, every art museum could see its insurance and security costs increase by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Museums may also put paintings—and even sculptures—behind the kind of boxlike cases that today protect only a few world-famous works, such as the Mona Lisa.

“You’re hurting organizations that are often in debt, that are often struggling financially,” he said. And he rejected the connection that some academics have made between the art world and the wealth inequality that fuels climate change: “People say, ‘It’s fancy art for billionaires.’ But no, the billionaires keep their art in their homes, and it’s insured. You’re not hurting them by doing this. You’re hurting the public.” Climate activists and museum workers are “on the same team,” he insisted: They’re both trying to preserve a priceless intergenerational gift for the public. “I don’t understand, in the name of preserving something we cherish, damaging something we also cherish.”

So we don’t know that the protests are effective, and we do know that they’re likely to cause financial problems for many museums. Here I will add my own concern: The activists look so silly. Food-throwers at the targeted museums attached their body to the wall under a painting, or to the painting itself. This required some anatomical logistics: Each activist had to remove a hidden tube of superglue from their pocket or bra, grasp it with one hand and twist off the lid with the other, then carefully squirt out the adhesive. It is awkward to describe; it is even more awkward to behold. There is no dignified way to squeeze a tiny bottle of superglue. Aesthetics matter in politics: Think of Che’s upward-and-to-the-left gaze on a T-shirt; a civil-rights protester’s head held high against police dogs in a black-and-white photo; or even the arc of a Molotov cocktail through the air. The soup-and-superglue movement fails an important test of youthful, radical politics: It does not look cool.

The activists’ stated rationale—that they are calling out the public for caring more about art than the climate—is just as awkward. If you and I were standing next to, say, a tranquilized horse, and you punched the horse, I would probably say, “Stop punching that horse!” I might even try to get you to stop. It would be highly irregular for you to respond, “Why do you care about this horse more than climate change?” The answer is, I do care about climate change, but right now you are punching the horse. Leftists sometimes resent mainstream economists for imagining trade-offs where none actually exist. But that’s exactly what they have done here.

And yet, the kids mean well, right? When you’re thinking about a problem as consequential as climate change, it’s tempting to grade for effort. Well, these activists really care about climate change, and it’s such an important issue … shouldn’t we listen to them? But the story of the past 40 years, the thing that the activists say they resent, is that politicians have claimed to fight climate change for decades and have met only occasional success. Getting angry about climate change is the easy part; actually finding ways to cut carbon emissions, to disrupt the fossil-fuel-powered economy that has dominated since Monet, is something else. The soup protests don’t make sense, aren’t obviously justified by bank-shot social science, and—worst of all—they look bad. Humanity is already doing enough to tarnish its precious inheritance. We don’t need extra help.

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5 Ways Galleries Are Making the Art World Greener – Artsy

Published

16 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Harry Miller

Art Market

Maxwell Rabb

Apr 22, 2024 12:00PM

Exterior view of Oudolf Field at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Photo by Jason Ingram. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.

This year’s Earth Day comes against a stark backdrop. Last year was the warmest on record, and a recent UN climate report recently warned that it’s “now or never to limit global warming.”

As the impacts of climate change grow increasingly urgent, the art community is recognizing its role in addressing environmental challenges through various initiatives and practices. Among the most significant of these is the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), founded in 2020, which unites a network of galleries in their commitment to sustainability. The organization—comprising over 900 members—emphasizes how galleries can collectively help to curb environmental damage.

Hauser & Wirth, a prominent member of the GCC, is one of the galleries spearheading these changes, committing to halve its emissions by 2030, which aligns with the 2015 UN Paris Agreement and the GCC’s mission statement.

Portrait of Cliodhna Murphy. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.

Portrait of Charles Moffett. Photo by Charlie Rubin. Courtesy of Charles Moffet.

“We are working in an industry that has entrenched habits and behaviors, and we need to steadily identify ways in which to shift the dial,” said Cliodhna Murphy, Hauser & Wirth’s global head of environmental sustainability. “I have been regularly meeting with a group of like-minded individuals from galleries of scale to discuss how we standardize the approach to sustainability across the art world, working towards the same goals. This is something that the GCC is also active in promoting in order to create a level playing field across all of the galleries and how they report their findings.”

In recognition of Earth Day, Artsy spoke with six galleries to identify five key ways that they are making strides toward a greener future.

Introducing greener shipping solutions

Interior view of Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, 2019. Photo by Elon Schoenholz. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.

The use of air travel to transport artworks is one of the pivotal practices being addressed by galleries to mitigate their environmental impact. The use of sea freight—which, according to the GCC, is 60 times less environmentally damaging than air transportation—is one of the main shifts that is taking place in this regard.

Hauser & Wirth is among the galleries using sea freight for transporting its high-value artworks. “There is a long-held preconception that sea freight is not an option for high-value painting, but I discovered that with the right crating, insurance, and remote supervision, it is absolutely a viable route,” Murphy told Artsy. “As a result, last year, we saved 200 [equivalent tonnes of] carbon dioxide by shifting six exhibitions to sea freight. That’s equivalent [to] 150 return economy flights between London and New York.”

Echoing this commitment, Roberts Projects’s senior registrar and sustainability liaison, Siobhan Bradley, revealed that the most considerable way the Los Angeles–based gallery has improved is through its packing and shipping methods—specifically by introducing alternative packing materials, reusing crates, and consolidating shipments. By doing so, the gallery has cut both environmental and financial costs. “These changes have been well received, particularly because they are generally cost-saving,” Bradley told Artsy.

Taking direct action with benefit exhibitions

Portrait of Quang Bao. Courtesy of 1969 Gallery.

Several galleries are integrating environmental issues into their exhibition programs by hosting benefit exhibitions that directly tackle climate change. One example is Tribeca’s 1969 Gallery, which recently hosted “World Beyond World” from January 18th to February 24th this year. This exhibition brought together 20 artists to support ocean conservation. Proceeds were donated to Only One, a nonprofit based in New York dedicated to restoring ocean health and addressing the climate crisis.

“Eric Oglander has these wonderful sculptural jars filled with an entire ecosystem of algae, snails, and plant life,” said the gallery’s founder, Quang Bao, reflecting on the exhibition. “We had to help keep the jars clean, lit over the days we were closed to help photosynthesis along. I loved them, and I think visitors, especially children, seemed to understand the deeper lesson—that you really have to handle the world we live in with conscience and handheld care.”

Eric Oglander, Jar 4, 2024. Courtesy of 1969 Gallery.

Eric Oglander, Jar 2, 2024. Courtesy of 1969 Gallery.

Charles Moffett is another gallery taking a similar approach. The New York gallery is currently gearing up for its own benefit exhibition next month, working closely with Art to Acres, an initiative focused on funding high-integrity conservation projects worldwide. The show, titled “Not Too Late,” will run from May 3rd to June 7th and will feature all 10 of the gallery’s represented artists, among several others. “[Art to Acres] is converting the actions of what we do in the art world into meaningful change,” founder Charles Moffet told Artsy.

Hauser & Wirth is also hosting an Earth Day 2024 event with Art to Acres, where artist Mika Rottenberg will release a series of lamps. Proceeds will benefit both Art to Acres and the artist’s innovative studio in Tivoli, New York, where she employs plastic reclamation to create her fantastical and playful sculptures with intrusive vines in the Hudson Valley forests.

“One single artist studio or gallery can’t shift the landscape, but collective action amplifies our efforts, builds a movement, and contributes to climate resilience,” said Murphy, referencing that several of the gallery’s artists have embraced sustainable practices, including Anj Smith, Pipilotti Rist, and Larry Bell.

Advocating for sustainable supply chains

Exterior view of Cristea Roberts Gallery. Photo by Jack Hems. Courtesy of Cristea Roberts Gallery.

Actively reducing everyday waste is another way galleries are embedding sustainability practices into their operations. London’s Cristea Roberts Gallery, for example, is taking strides in integrating sustainable materials into its day-to-day operations. Alan Cristea, co-director of the gallery, noted that the gallery is focused on reducing energy consumption and has actively banned polystyrene and reduced single-use plastics in favor of sustainable materials.

“There is still much work to be done, but by opening up conversations and making changes, however small, we hope to build long-term momentum for a sustainable art sector,” said Cristea. “Galleries are also in a unique position to leverage collectors, shipping partners, and the art sector in general to consider working in more permanent, environmentally responsible ways.”

Exterior view of Charles Moffett. Photo by Andy Romer. Courtesy of Charles Moffett.

Often, by switching to sustainable materials and making conscious everyday decisions, galleries and their artists are making a difference. “It’s been really incredible to watch a lot of galleries and artists become more invested in more sustainable practices, whether it’s as simple as changing how we get our power or changing the way in which we ship,” noted Moffett. “These small efforts do tend to have a ripple effect in a business and the art world.”

By implementing these measures, these galleries are both minimizing their environmental impact and influencing the art supply chain to adopt greener practices.

Encouraging online engagement

Portrait of Todd Hosfelt. Courtesy of Hosfelt Gallery.

Portrait of Alan Cristea. Courtesy of Cristea Roberts Gallery.

As digital technologies evolve, so do opportunities for reducing physical travel. Alan Cristea notes that the biggest leap for galleries is circumventing industry norms—which often demand environmentally taxing methods.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic halted the international art world circuit, galleries have become accustomed to exhibiting and selling art online. This also extends to their outreach when it comes to building and maintaining relationships with clients worldwide. In San Francisco, Hosfelt Gallery has drastically reduced unnecessary travel by supplementing in-person meetings with online interactions.

Exterior view of Hosfelt Gallery. Courtesy of Hosfelt Gallery.

“The worst thing any of us do is fly,” founder Todd Hosfelt said. “We need to do less of it. Instead of hopping on a plane for every event, ask, ‘What do you hope to achieve by going?’ and ‘Can you achieve it without flying there?’ In other words, is that trip actually necessary? I used to fly all over the world to do studio visits or meetings….Now, I mostly use Zoom. How many staff people do you really need at an art fair? Can you tack your holiday plans onto the front or back of a work trip? I’m not suggesting never flying anywhere; I’m saying do it thoughtfully.”

Spreading awareness

Exterior view of Roberts Projects. Photo by Eric Staudenmaier. Courtesy of Roberts Projects.

The more people that know about how to make their businesses sustainable, the wider adoption will be. From learning about auditing their environmental impact to getting involved with organizations like Art to Acres and the GCC, gallerists are making each other aware of what they can do. “A big part of it is just education, and awareness, for me, is the first building block in all of this,” said Moffet. “If you don’t understand the impact of your gallery or your museum or your organization, you don’t know what it is that needs to happen in order to reduce your footprint,” he noted.

Programs that address environmental issues—whether in fair-funded talks or action-oriented gallery exhibitions—are crucial ways of fostering a culture of sustainability, which is essential to empowering sustainable action across the art world.

“Galleries—especially members in senior positions—should fully support their staff’s interest in sustainability,” said Robert Projects’s Bradley. “To me, this means creating and allocating time for staff to do research, attend educational seminars or meetings with environmental groups, and then genuinely listening to what they’ve learned and what they feel can be implemented at individual galleries.”

Maxwell Rabb

Maxwell Rabb is Artsy’s Staff Writer.

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Why South Korean Collector JaeMyung Noh Set Up His Own Art Fair – Artsy

Published

19 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Harry Miller

Art Market

Maxwell Rabb

Apr 19, 2024 4:05PM

Portrait of JaeMyung Noh. Courtesy of the collector.

JaeMyung Noh first started collecting among his classmates in high school. It was there, collecting edition prints and toys with his friends, that he discovered the tangible allure of art, a passion nurtured by his mother from an early age. Despite his initial childhood reluctance, visits to prominent museums like MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his mother laid the foundation for his enduring love of art.

Today, Noh collects with his wife, SoHyun Park, traveling to art capitals such as Miami, Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo, and New York to peruse and purchase works. “My focus with our collection—my personal collection—is it’s young and international, and it’s young and fresh, so that is our slogan, ‘Young, Fresh, and Classy,’” Noh explained in an interview with Artsy. This mantra is the heart of his latest venture, an art fair inspired by his experience as a collector: Art OnO, meaning “One and Only.”

Interior view of Art OnO at SETEC, 2024. Courtesy of Art OnO.

Art OnO is Noh’s response to the international attention Seoul’s thriving art scene has garnered, particularly since the inaugural Frieze Seoul three years ago. Motivated to nurture the local art community amid this global buzz, Noh designed a fair that facilitates dialogue between South Korean and international galleries. “I wanted to see the local artists, local galleries, and local art scene grow,” he said. After its VIP preview yesterday, Art OnO opens today through April 21st and welcomes about 40 galleries from 15 countries. featuring major galleries such as Berlin-founded Peres Projects and Hong Kong stalwart Pearl Lam Galleries alongside emerging tastemakers such as Seoul’s CYLINDER and Paris’s cadet capela.

“We mix up everything—we don’t divide sectors, we don’t have sections, so you’ll see everything in just one pot and some big names next to really young talents,” said Noh. Art OnO’s inaugural edition will take place at the SETEC center, located in the southeast corner of Seoul. The venue, which can accommodate up to 100 galleries, will provide ample space for each participating gallery.

Exterior view of Art OnO at SETEC, 2024. Courtesy of Art OnO.

Noh’s vision for Art OnO is tied to his journey as a collector, which began in a convivial, community-oriented environment. This early immersion into art collecting instilled in him a preference for a more approachable and less segmented art world that welcomes dialogue and discovery over exclusivity. Here, with Art OnO, he intends to prioritize the art lover and the relationship between Seoul’s galleries and the international art world.

“The biggest influence was from obviously Art Basel and I really liked Liste—not just the [experimental] works, but the galleries they show,” Noh said. “I wanted to see people just walk around and not so serious. They kind of chill and they talk about art, and that’s what I want to see from my fair. Not just about the value, because nowadays people talk about the value of art, not just the art itself, but they talk about the price. They talk about the brand. They talk about the names. Not that I’m saying that it’s not important. It is important. But I want to hear people talking about art itself rather than the value.”

Portrait of JaeMyung Noh. Courtesy of the collector.

Art OnO is designed to be an immersive experience that attracts true art lovers—those drawn not just to the artists but to the stories and the creative process behind each piece. Noh’s curatorial vision for the fair reflects a similar ethos to his personal approach to collecting. He highlights his experiences collecting works by artists such as Simon Fujiwara, whom he encountered at the Istanbul Biennial, and Ryan Schneider, whom he first discovered at a fair in Miami, as examples of artists whom Noh initially took a risk on and have since seen a surge in popularity. Noh has consistently sought to support art that pushes boundaries and challenges conventional tastes. His collection strategy—taking risks on less established artists—echoes Art OnO’s commitment to featuring emerging talents alongside well-known names.

“When people see something really new and something for the first time, then they don’t like it, but they see it for a few times, and then they start thinking it’s unique,” Noh said. “I tell people when you see something really new and you think it’s weird, then you should go for it. Because that’s something that you haven’t seen before.”

Portrait of JaeMyung Noh. Courtesy of the collector.

Art OnO is the latest in a string of alternative fairs, from Basel to New York, that have emerged in recent years, springing from a desire for a complementary, more intimate art experience. Noh is determined to steer Art OnO in a direction that stimulates conversation about new, sometimes shocking art, pushing against the mainstream narrative that often prioritizes market value over artistic merit.

“I wanted to bring that question to our fair so that we show people that there are so many either young or fresh artists that you’ve never seen but show a great quality of works,” Noh said. “We have to go back to the simple question, ‘Is it the quality or the price that makes people think that a certain artist or the work is good?’ Because when we see something expensive, then a lot of people think it’s great, and when people see something cheap, then people don’t really pay much attention to it.”

Portrait of JaeMyung Noh at Art OnO, 2024. Courtesy of Art OnO.

With Art OnO, Noh is channeling his collecting vision into the fair’s foundation. The “Young, Fresh, and Classy” slogan, directly influenced by his and Park’s tastes, drives the curation and presentation of the fair. This approach not only distinguishes Art OnO from more traditional fairs but also gives insight into what Noh values in his personal collection.

Here, he takes us inside his collection, showcasing the inventive and engaging art that the Art OnO founder seeks to champion.

Three standout works in JaeMyung Noh’s collection

Patrick Eugène Draped Down for Town, 2022

Patrick Eugène, Draped Down for Town, 2022. Courtesy of the collector.

“One of the biggest reasons for owning a work by Patrick Eugène is because it can provide both comfort and joy when hung in my space and seen every day as an artwork. Among my collection, there are also grotesque pieces, but at times, the comfort provided by such works [as Eugène’s] can be substantial.” —JaeMyung Noh

Song Seung-eun, A Boiler Spewing Fiction, 2022

Song Seung-eun, A Boiler Spewing Fiction, 2022. Courtesy of the collector.

“I first encountered Song Seung-eun, one of the Korean emerging artists, and continued to track her works. Over time, I noticed the artist’s maturation in her paintings, which is the reason that I am motivated to start collecting her works. Besides, this artwork, I have been collecting Song Seung-eun’s works consistently since her previous series.” —JN

Rebecca Ackroyd, Direct Lines, 2019

Rebecca Ackroyd, Direct Lines, 2019. Courtesy of the collector and Peres Projects, Berlin.

“As soon as I saw Rebecca Ackroyd’s work, I felt it would be part of my collection. I had David Altmejd’s work, and I knew I had to have the two in one space. They somehow talk about time, of course, in different ways, and even the results share things in common.

“I called my wife saying we need this work, plus it was shown at a museum exhibition, so even better. The look and the mediums of work are quite intense, but we love the work. Even back then, she was not super popular yet, but I’m happy to see her continue her practice and develop her career as an artist. She will be having a solo exhibition in Venice during the Biennale this year.” —JN

Maxwell Rabb

Maxwell Rabb is Artsy’s Staff Writer.

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‘Luminous’ truck strap artwork wins prestigious Biennale prize in first for New Zealand – The Guardian

Published

19 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Harry Miller

A Māori artist collective’s dazzling, intricate canopy woven from reflective trucking straps has been awarded a prestigious global art prize – the first time a New Zealand artwork has won the award.

On Saturday, the jury of the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale awarded New Zealand’s Mataaho Collective the Golden Lion for best international participation for its work Takapau – a large-scale installation inspired by Māori takapau, finely woven mats made for special events.

Indigenous artists from Oceania dominated the awards this year, with Austalia’s Archie Moore winning the Golden Lion for best national participation for his artwork kith and kin, at the Australia Pavilion.

Mataaho collective is made up of four Māori artists: Erena Arapere-Baker, Sarah Hudson, Bridget Reweti and Terri Te Tau, who have worked together on large installations since 2012.

The collective expressed their gratitude for the win in a post to their Instagram page.

“It doesn’t feel like just our award, but recognition of our supportive families, our visionary colleagues, our generous mentors and the Indigenous artists of the future.”

The work was inspired by traditional Māori takapau, finely woven mats made for special events.

Its winning 200sqm suspended weaving is made from six kilometres of fluorescent trucking straps , 480 stainless steel buckles and ratchets, and 960 J-hooks – safety materials used in labouring jobs and chosen to reflect the artists’ working-class backgrounds.

After the announcement, Mataaho artist Sarah Hudson told RNZ the artists hoped to make gallery spaces more relatable to communities outside the art world.

“We all come from working class whānau [families] and the materials we choose to use are a mihi [tribute] to them, who may not feel at home in the art gallery – we like to use materials they know and experience every day, so they have something to recognise in the art world.”

The Biennale judges picked Takapau out from hundreds of entries for its “impressive scale” and noted that it was a feat of engineering “only made possible by the collective strength and creativity of the group”.

“Mataaho Collective has created a luminous woven structure of straps that poetically crisscross the gallery space,” the judges said in their announcement.

“The dazzling pattern of shadows cast on the walls and floor harks back to ancestral techniques and gestures to future uses of such techniques.”

Takapau, a large-scale installation inspired by traditional Māori takapau, finely woven mats made for special events.

Caroline Vercoe, associate professor in art history at the University of Auckland, told the Guardian part of the beauty of Mataaho’s work is its ability to work collectively to weave together complex Māori concepts with indigenous art forms and every-day materials.

The Golden Lion award tends to acknowledge something of a “turning point” within certain art practices or thinking, Vercoe said.

“Mataaho and Māori artists are really leading the way with contemporary art practices,” she said.

“We have always known the power of contemporary Māori art and it is just wonderful to see that acknowledged globally.”

Creative New Zealand – the country’s arts funding body – said five Māori artists, including Mataaho Collective, were invited to show at the international exhibition.

Mataaho’s win was a historic moment, said Creative New Zealand’s Amanda Hereaka.

“This award recognises, on the biggest global platform, the importance and relevance of [Māori art] and New Zealand art; we should all celebrate this wonderful achievement.”