The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū presents Multiples, a major exhibition by Aotearoa artist Christopher Ulutupu, bringing together a constellation of photographic and moving-image works across the gallery.
Working across video and photography, Ulutupu explores identity as something layered, relational, and continually evolving. Drawing on family narratives, popular culture, and imagined scenarios, his works blur the boundaries between the personal and the cinematic, creating images that are both intimate and theatrical.
Central to the exhibition is the idea that identity is not singular or fixed, but shaped through encounters between people, cultures, and places. This thinking resonates with the work of writer and philosopher Édouard Glissant, who described identity as something formed through ongoing cultural exchange.
In Ulutupu’s works, these exchanges unfold through carefully staged scenes and performances. In Lelia (2018), for example, members of the artist’s family appear in high-fashion clothing on a snow-covered ski slope. The work merges family storytelling with elements of fiction and popular culture, placing identity within a space where heritage, imagination, and belonging intersect.
Another idea that echoes through the exhibition comes from Pacific scholar Epeli Hauʻofa, who described Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean) as a ‘sea of islands’ – a region defined not by separation but by the relationships that connect people and places across the ocean. Ulutupu’s works operate in a similar way. Each piece stands independently while remaining connected to the others, forming a shifting network of relationships across the gallery.
The exhibition includes video works such as Leave Room for Jesus (2023), What’s the Worst You Could Do? (2021), and the episodic series New Kid in Town (2021), alongside photographic works created in collaboration with photographer Kasmira Krefft.
As part of the exhibition programme, Ulutupu will also present a live performance of Dreaming of Lulu as part of the Nelson Fringe Festival. The performance will take place at The Pastorious Waller Theatre at the Suter on 14 March at 1pm, offering audiences a chance to experience the work in a live context.
Together, the works in Multiples invite audiences to reflect on identity as something ever-shifting and relational—formed through family, culture, imagination, and connection.
