Gavin Hipkins

Gavin Hipkins, Hotel Flag, 2024

Billboard. Courtesy Michael Lett, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Reflecting on Waiheke’s relationship to moana and maritime practices, Gavin Hipkins calls on an International Code Signal Flag. He chooses the flag for the initial letter of his surname, the ‘H’ or ‘Hotel’ flag. Grounding his oversized flag on Waiheke, he alludes to the island’s history as a popular leisure destination for day-trippers and overnighters. For boaties, however, the H flag carries another message: ‘There is a pilot with local knowledge on board, to guide vessels into or out of port safely.’ By situating his coded message on Waiheke, Hipkins questions a culture of quick visits and consumer society. The billboard format is a shallow, temporary structure, but Hotel Flag reminds us of deeper knowledges of place and the need for local guidance.

Gavin Hipkins lives in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. He completed his BFA at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, in 1992, and his MFA at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, in 2002. He is now an Associate Professor at Elam. He began working in photography, addressing the medium’s histories and how it has shaped the contemporary world. He began making experimental videos in 2010. In 2014, he released his first feature Erewhon—based on Samuel Butler’s 1872 novel. Group shows include the 1998 Biennale of Sydney; Flight Patterns, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, in 2000; the 2021 Auckland Triennial, Auckland Art Gallery; the 2002 Walters Prize, Auckland Art Gallery; the 2002 Sao Paolo Biennale; Unnerved, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, in 2010; This Is New Zealand, City Gallery Wellington, in 2018; and the 2018 Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery. His survey show Gavin Hipkins: The Domain was exhibited at the Dowse Art Museum, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt, in 2017.