Te Tūtaki: Place, Time, Biculturalism and the Postmodern in the work of Shane Cotton, 2000-2012

Abstract

This thesis explores the art of Shane Cotton during the period of 2000 to 2012, focusing on four major themes that are shown to be central to his art practice during this time. These themes are place, time, biculturalism and the postmodern. A theme-based approach is preferred because Cotton’s art does not progress in a linear, chronological fashion over the course of the decade, but rather he continually explores and revisits concepts in a thematic way. The thesis examines specific aspects of Cotton’s artistic content within each of the broader themes. Expression of identity is shown to be closely related to Cotton’s portrayal of place, which is also used to explore differing cultural ways of relating to place. His chosen medium of painting is analysed as an element of time in his work both in its making and in reception; while his explorations of religious hybridity, along with the use of dual languages in his paintings, are found to be elements of the unique biculturalism of Aotearoa New Zealand. Lastly, Cotton’s regular practice of appropriation is explored as a typically postmodern mode of image-making. The themes are also shown to all be closely related with one another, giving Cotton’s art practice a unified conceptual basis. The locating of his works in a certain place ties in to historical narratives of biculturalism, while the paintings that display an ambiguity of place and time illustrate a postmodern negation of narrative. Cotton’s subversion of the dominant unbalanced dynamic of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand and his use of incoherency also relates to postmodern critiques of imperialism and singular truth. This thesis finds that above all, Shane Cotton is a painter of symbols and signs. Accordingly, each of the four themes is initially discussed in terms of how he portrays the thematic concepts through the use of symbolic imagery. It is shown that these symbols and signs, although broadly pertaining to the outlined themes, are ultimately ambiguous and can be interpreted in a variety of different ways, which situates Cotton within the larger postmodern theoretical context. For this reason, the final chapter explores postmodernism both as a theme within Cotton’s work and also as the broad structure that underpins his art as whole.