A flood-damaged house in Ponsonby becomes the site for First Person (Hard-Boiled), a new installation by artist Simon Endres. Once part of a stream that flowed into Cox’s Bay, the house carries its own memory and damage. Inside, visitors encounter a cast of life- sized sculptural figures, objects, architectural alterations and sound. Each one is a kind of costumed witness: fragile, absurd, and sharply present. The installation is both haunted and humorous, and filled with contradictions.
The collection of figures becomes a menagerie of anxious misfits. They form an exploded self-portrait and a proxy for our collective state of mind, shaped by cultural, social, political, economic and environmental upheaval. These figures reference fashion, fitness culture, street style, status, race, and figurative art traditions playfully woven together through material curiosity, body adornment, dress codes, and ritual.
The installation moves between states of shelter and exposure, charting a volatile emotional terrain. It holds two opposing urges in tension — the desire to disappear, to retreat from view, and the drive to be witnessed, to assert presence. These contradictory impulses run through the work’s political unease, its coded humour and its cast of fragile, watchful figures.
The house itself becomes a character, exposed and listening. As Ben Leonard writes in the exhibition publication, “The house is part of the stream that used to run through this valley. It had a name. No doubt more stories. Ka aroha ki a koe e te wai - I’m sorry we forgot about you.”
Endres is an artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. A graduate of Elam School of Fine Arts, his work has featured in solo and group exhibitions across Aotearoa since the early 90s. After 21 years in New York working in design and branding, he returned in 2020 to reestablish his practice here. His objects draw on identity politics, masculinity, social stratification and race, with playful material approaches across photography, drawing, installation and sculpture.
Additional events and programmes will accompany the installation. A printed publication will also be released alongside the show. More information will be shared closer to the event.
Dates:
Saturday 30 August – Saturday 27 September
Location:
24 Tawariki Street, Ponsonby
Opening hours:
Wednesday – Friday 11am – 6pm Saturday & Sunday 10am – 3pm
Contact:
Simon Endres simonkendres@gmail.com @simonendres
https://ponsonbynews.co.nz/blogs/news/first-person-hard-boiled
