Image: The Physics Room
The Physics Room in Ōtautahi Christchurch will host the mihi whakatau and opening celebration for 'Gun, Paper, Obelisk', an exhibition by Ashleigh Taupaki and Tristen Harwood, on Thursday 13 August at 5.30pm. The exhibition itself opens the following day, with its run scheduled for 14 August to 4 October 2026. The invitation notes that all are welcome and that no RSVP is required.
According to the exhibition text, 'Gun, Paper, Obelisk' brings together new work by Taupaki and Harwood through a title that riffs on the hand game rock, paper, scissors. That reference is used to echo what the organisers describe as the tripartite nature of the colonial project: militarism, administration and extraction. The exhibition is framed around an intervention in and reinterpretation of public records from Aotearoa and Australia.
The project focuses on the material conditions and spatial encounters of the late 19th century, using archival and documentary sources as points of departure. The exhibition text says this research allows 'Gun, Paper, Obelisk' to articulate ideas of colonial ambivalence, ideological justification and Indigenous self-identification. The language of the project places public records at the centre of the artists’ enquiry, with the records treated not as fixed historical evidence but as material to be re-read and reworked.
Ashleigh Taupaki is identified in the exhibition material as a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in object, drawing and research. She has recently completed a PhD in Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts and Design, and her work investigates complex relationships between knowledge systems and cultural understanding through visual and conceptual frameworks. Her name appears in the exhibition announcement alongside a concept drawing for 'Te Whakatau', dated 2026.
Tristen Harwood is described in the same source as Indigenous Australian and a text-based artist who lives on unceded Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne, where he lectures at the Victorian College of the Arts. The announcement also notes his writing and editorial background, including publication in ArtReview, Memo, Artlink, The New York Times, Overland Journal, Un Magazine, The Saturday Paper, Art Monthly Australasia and Art + Australia, among others. It adds that he is a senior editor at Memo Review and has recently published a chapter in '65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art' and co-authored 'Variations: A More Diverse Picture of Contemporary Art'.
The Physics Room’s website lists 'Gun, Paper, Obelisk' as an upcoming exhibition from 14 August to 4 October, confirming the same dates given in the mailing. The venue is given in the invitation as 301 Montreal Street, The Arts Centre Registry Additions Building, Ōtautahi Christchurch, with public hours Tuesday to Friday 11am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm. The opening event is set for 13 August, 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
