Siân Torrington explores relationships of interconnectivity, and interdependence, through an expressive language of colour, mark making and structural props that hold drawings and sculptures together, as we are held together. Siân graduated with an MFA with distinction from Massey University in 2010, has had numerous solo and groups shows, and works from a studio in Wellington New Zealand. Her work has been commissioned for public art institutions, including ‘Soft is Stronger than Hard’ at City Gallery Wellington, and ‘The way you have held things’ for Christchurch Art Gallery, as well as for festivals, and by the Public Art Fund, Wellington. She has held artist residencies in Samoa at Tiapipata Arts Centre, and Shanthi Rd, India through the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
siantorrington@gmail.com
Selected Solo shows
2020 I’m Glad You’re Here, Just the Way You Are, Toi Poneke, Wellington
2019 Studio Outings #1, Trades Hall, Wellington
2018 What we bring back, AirSpace Projects, Sydney
2017 Te Aho Mano / A Thousand Threads, with collaborations with Anahera Gildea and Leilanai L’Aiga Pua The Engine Room, Massey University, Wellington
Intimacy Stages / Active Empathy, Studio One, Toi Tu, Auckland
We Don’t Have to Be The Building, Silo Seven, Auckland
2016 We Don’t have To Be The Building, Courtenay Place light boxes, Wellington
2015 Weaving in, weaving out, Shanthi Rd, India
2014 This is not imagination, Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland
The Boat Floats, 30 Upstairs, Wellington
2013 There’s no way over, only Through, Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland
2013 Your Uncontained Movement has opened a new room in me, with Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland
2012 Caves are made of Rock but not this Cave – in collaboration with Rachel O’Neill and Joan Fleming, Blue Oyster Gallery Dunedin
2011 Inhabitance artists book launch – Enjoy Gallery Wellington
Making Here – Collaborative project with the artists of Pablos Arts studio, Wellington, funded by Creative Communities
2010 Open Water Bodies – Blackmore Jean Gallery, Wellington
Inhabitance – installation residency funded by The Public Art Fund Wellington
MFA graduation show – Massey University Wellington
2009 Snippets paint me a fanatic – Square 2, City Gallery Wellington
2008 Exposure –Massey graduation show
Group shows
2018 Finalist in the Parkin Drawing Award, Wellington
2017 Finalist in the Parkin Drawing Award, Wellington
2016 Finalist in the Waiheke Art Award
2015 Enjoy Feminisms – Enjoy Gallery Wellington
The F Word – George Paton Gallery Melbourne
2014 Finalist in the Parkin Drawing Award, Wellington
2013 Finalist in the Parkin Drawing Award, Wellington
2012 The Obstinate Object – City Gallery Wellington
Wellington City Council Collection – City Gallery Wellington
2011 You Say Tomato – curated by Mary- Jane Duffy, Toi Poneke Wellington
2010 Reasonable Force – RM gallery, Auckland
2007 Telecom Prospect – City Gallery Wellington as part of The Association of Collaboration
Tell me to my face –The High St Project
2006 Every Now and Then – Enjoy Public Art Gallery Wellington, with The Association of Collaboration
Spark 06–Wintec, Hamilton
Published writing
2017
We Don’t Have to Be The Building, in Counterfutures, Issue 4, Left thought and practice Aotearoa.
2015
Conversation (with Creek Waddington) in Enjoy gallery journal Love Feminisms http://enjoy.org.nz/publishing/the-occasional-journal/love-feminisms/conversation
We talk a lot about the struggle, in Fightback Magazine issue for women and gender minorities
Femme Slam, in Enjoy gallery journal The Dendromaniac http://journal.enjoy.org.nz/the-dendromaniac/this-is-a-femme-slam
2014
Fourth Floor online journal http://4thfloorjournal.co.nz/
2013
Bulletin # 53, Christchurch Art Gallery
2011
Inhabitance – Self published artists book, documentation on https://allmeaningisthelineyoudraw.wordpress.com/
2010
Gabrielle Amodeo show review, Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington
MFA Thesis Making Space: Speleology, Massey University Wellington http://muir.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/10179/1332/2/01front.pdf
2009
I love movies, in Workshopping Performance, Jan 2010, Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington
2006
Failure is a blank page Ramp Magazine, Feb 2006 no 4
Publications and reviews
2012 Art Seen, Franky Strachan, Otago Daily Times http://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/arts/219690/art-seen
The Object of the Exercise, Martin Patrick, The Listener, June2nd, 2012
2010 Playing with Urban Fabric, Mark Amery, http://eyecontactsite.com/2010/12/playing-with-urban-fabric
Oculus postgraduate Journal for Visual Art Research, Issue 2, May 2010, University of Canterbury College of Arts
2007 Telecom Prospect 2007: New Art New ZealandPub City Gallery Wellington
Less scared, more StrangeArtists Alliance magazine issue 84
Less scared, more Strangeself published artists book
2006
I Took the things you threw away Appliance, Artists Alliance magazine issue 8
Oh, the things I have seen….. Thomasin Sleigh, Salient magazine Issue 25, October 16
Here My ROAR! Thomasin Sleigh, Salient magazine Issue 02,March 6
Funding and awards
2017 Toi Pōneke funding towards Queer and Trans* drawing classes
2016 Public Art Fund, Creative NZ, Armstrong and Arthur Fund, Rainbow Wellington and Boosted funding for We Don’t Have to Be The Building
2015 Asia New Zealand Foundation residency at Shanthi Rd, Bengaluru, India
Creative New Zealand, Public Art Fund, Rainbow Wellington and Armstrong and Arthur Trust funding for ‘We don’t have to be the building’
2011 Creative Communities funding for collaborative project with Pablos Art Studios
2010 Public Art Panel funding for public art project Inhabitance
2009 Masterate Massey scholarship to study MFA
2007 Trade Secrets artists professional development support programme funded by Cultural Grant WCC
2006 I Took the things you threw away Creative Communities, Dunedin Fringe festival
2005 Woolf Photography prize for post-graduate essay writing
2003 I made this funded by Prince of Wales Trust, UK
Collections
Two works held in the Wellington City Council Collection
Education
2010 MFA, awarded with Distinction, Massey University
2008 Post-graduate diploma Fine Arts Massey University
2001 Diploma Fashion and Textiles NMIT,
1998 BA Philosophy, Otago University
Sian Torrington Artist 