INFO
| Name | Louie Bretaña (he/him) |
| Country of Birth | Philippines |
| Place of Residence | Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland |
| Ethnicities | Filipino |
| Dealer Gallery | Bergman Gallery |
| Artform | Craft/Object, Visual arts, Performance art |
| Decades Active | 2010s, 2020s |
ABOUT
Louie Bretaña is a Filipino-born multi-disciplinary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Bretaña’s exploration of the historical and contemporary impacts of colonisation on Filipino culture are captured through sculpture, performance and jewellery.
Bretaña worked in advertising in the Philippines before moving to Aotearoa in 2011 to pursue his dream of becoming a practising artist. In his first few years in Aotearoa, Bretaña worked in the marketing department of a local trade school but once he was eligible for StudyLink, he went into the University of Auckland Elam School of Fine Arts programme where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours (2018) and a Master of Fine Arts with First Class Honours (2019).
In Eat My Rice (2017), a reimagining of a pre-colonial Filipino feast for Performance Art Week Aotearoa, Bretaña showcases traditional ritual and proper etiquette for eating with one's hands, pushing back on the colonial narrative of the ‘uncivilised Filipino’ who eats on the floor with their hands. In the accompanying text Bretaña writes:
Eat my rice it’s nice
With chicken and aubergine
But wash your hands first.
I never knew how
To eat cleanly with my hands
It’s all in the thumb.
The Spanish were wrong
But shame is an easy way
To kill a culture.
Pre-colonial Filipino deities feature heavily in Bretaña's work, acting as an avenue for telling stories and revisiting forgotten mythologies in a contemporary setting. In his immersive one-man exhibition, Tumingala Sa Tinitingala Na Mga Tala, the artist invites visitors to lie on banig (woven mats) and tingala (look up) to view intricately embellished suspended star sculptures based on parol (traditional Philippine lanterns). Each star sculpture is dedicated to a particular diwata (deity) and the act of tingala (looking up) allows the viewer to receive their blessings.
When asked about his artist journey, Bretaña shares:
I plan to continue my practice and establish myself as a contemporary artist here in New Zealand. But the key to that is for me to recognise my identity and heritage as it will define me and my work. Becoming a migrant has given me a renewed appreciation for the things I took for granted and I am on a personal journey of rediscovering my love for art and my heritage.
LINKS
Key works / presentations
2024 – Someone to watch over me, Bergman Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2024 – Bergman Gallery Booth G23, Aotearoa Art Fair, Viaduct Events Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau
2024 – Belonging, Bergman Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2023 – Five Painters, Bergman Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2023 – Horizon, Bergman Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2023 – A Place to Call Home, Bergman Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2023 – Pride & Prejudice, Bergman Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2023 – Oasis/Respite 2.0, Homestead Galleries, Tāmaki Makaurau
2022 – Mailap Man ay Nariyan ang Diwata ng Karagatan (Elusive But Ever Present is the Spirit of the Seas),commissioned work by WWF-NZ Whale Tales, Manukau Bus Station, Tāmaki Makaurau
2022 – Oasis/Respite, Studio One Toi Tū, Tāmaki Makaurau
2021 – Vaka to a Billion Stars, Silo 6, Tāmaki Makaurau
2021 – Dito sa Lupa Para Nang sa Langit (On Earth as it is in the Heavens), Franklin Arts Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau
2021 – Tumingala sa Tinitingala na mga Tala, Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2021 – SYOKES, Objectspace, Tāmaki Makaurau
2020 – Eat My Rice, RM Archival Residency, RM Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2020 – Blessed Art Thou, Studio One Toi Tu, Tāmaki Makaurau
2020 – Showcase 2.0, Fresh Gallery Otara, Tāmaki Makaurau
2019 – Showcase, Nathan Homestead, Tāmaki Makaurau
2018 – Kimat, commissioned work by Parnell Business Association for Year of the Dog, Jonathan Grant Galleries, Tāmaki Makaurau
2017 – Eat My Rice, Performance Art Week Aotearoa, Pōneke
2017 – Remedial Learning, RM Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau
2017 – Bite Me, Lowtide Studios, Tāmaki Makaurau
2017 – 4x4x4, Elam Projectspace, Tāmaki Makaurau
2017 – Ang Sarimanok, commissioned work by Parnell Business Association for Year of the Rooster, Tāmaki Makaurau
Key awards
2024 – Artist of the Year, Filipino-Kiwi Hero Awards
2022 – Finalist, Parkin Drawing Prize, New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, Pōneke
2022 – Finalist, Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Award, Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi, Whakatane
