May the rainbow touch your shoulder...

Wax, honey, feathers, rose petals, rice, paper, salt, ribbons and bells. Simple objects and natural materials are assembled into clever configurations by Tiffany Singh so that they might be encountered with joy. Wooden, bamboo wind-chimes hang waiting to be set in motion by gentle winds or curious hands, rows of figures and objects moulded in beeswax form inviting long lines. There are golden apples, lotus flowers and little deities. Powdered spices and pigments are piled into inviting mounds. Such components are often arranged into grids or lines so that the eye might take them in either with a sweeping glance or in easy increments. Aside from the rich glow and rainbow of colours- red, magenta, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet, there is the importance of touch and one’s sense of smell. Sounding bells, pulling on a string, knocking a wind-chime… or inhaling the scent of honeycomb, star anise, paprika, incense or wax.

Although they are visually spectacular orchestrations of multitudes, repeated forms and variable colours, Singh’s works await the presence of viewers or participants and are incomplete without them. Central to Singh’s practice is the notion of public participation and a reciprocity between artist and audience. These installations of significant materials act as offerings, recalling shrine cultures in which seemingly mundane materials are presented so that they might be transformed, becoming sacred. Here auspicious arrangements of lovingly crafted and placed elements act as invitations, gifts, moments of exchange and experience. Generosity and the labour of the artist give way to contemplation, collaboration and community-building.

Sensual, exuberant and optimistic, each installation and encounter transfigures the commonplace, strengthening social relations. Using forms from multiple faiths and mythologies, vivid colours, simple materials and expansive arrangments, Singh initiates wonder and awe. Most importantly of all there is an abundance of enjoyment.

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Tiffany Singh (b. 1978) currently lives and works in Auckland. Since completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 2008 she has initiated major artistic projects both nationally and internationally. She was the 2017 frecient of a New Generation Arts Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. Her major collaborative public project "Fly Me Up To Where You Are" has been featured as part of the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 and continued in other major city centres both in New Zeraland and internationally in 2013 - 2014. In late 2012 a year long project "May the Rainbow Touch your Shoulder" was unveiled at the Auckland Art Gallery and she exhibited two major site specific projects as part of the 18th Biennale of Sydney (2012) and Medi(t)ation: Contemporary Asian Art Biennial at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (2011). Selected works by Singh have also been included within curated exhibitions and group shows including Preserve (Papakura Art Gallery, 2011) Stealing the Senses (Govett Brewster, New Plymouth, 2011) and Knowing Me, Knowing You (Artspace, Auckland, 2010.) Singh has received significant recognition for her work - in 2012 she participated in a residency at Shanti Studios in India and in 2013 she  undertook a residency at McCahon House in Titirangi and at the Montalvo Arts Centre in California. In 2018 she will take up an artist residency in Taiwan.

For additional information and a complete CV please contact the gallery.