Tue, Dec. 14: 7:00-8:30 PM: The Tupapau Within (Prologue), Performance begins at 7:30pm

The Tupapau Within is a project by Alexander Lee at Newman Popiashvili Gallery from December 14th, 2010 to January 15, 2011. During this off-season run, the artist will be taking residence in the gallery and using the space as a site for production, events and performances relating to the Tupapau (the Tahitian word for ghost and ancestral spirit), a vivid and threatening character in his Polynesian upbringing.

Throughout the run of the project, Lee will make a series of drawings on the walls and floor of the gallery, premiere a suite of performances in 3 acts with music composer Keith Moore, host guests and events –exquisite corpse style—invoking the inner struggles and haunting meanderings of an artist at work, wrestling with the inner beast, set to music, in late night solitude or random gathering, and the carnage of it all.

The project can be followed and will be documented through a blog: http://thetupapauwithin.blogspot.com/

Alexander Lee was born in Stockton, CA, and grew-up in Tahiti, French Polynesia. He earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts, his MFA from Columbia University, and MPS from New York University. Lee’ s trilogy, The Departure of the Fish, around the creation myth of the island of Tahiti, premiered at Kinkead Contemporary, Los Angeles in 2006 and at Clementine Gallery, New York in 2007. His subsequent projects, Recitations from The Great Fish Changing Skies (2008), and Expanding-Eel-Devourer (2009) continue his interest in storytelling and the anthropic process.

Event calendar:

Tuesday, December 14 7:30-8:30 PM: The Tupapau Within (Prologue), Performance

Ensemble: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS SAXOPHONE MOB (Chris Bravo, Will Conlin, Shane Rathburn, Ben Robinette, Nick Statzer, Matt Hess) Readers: Jonny Blitstein, Cédric Eeckhout

Sun, Dec. 19: 3:00-6:00 PM: Workshop (the Do and the Pumps)

Hair: Caroline McGovern, Gardner Edmunds, Tim Duen Shoes: Rickard Guy Handmade

Fri, Jan. 14: 7:30-9:00 PM: The Tupapau Within (Act III + Epilogue), Performance

Ensemble: PRISM Quartet (Timothy McAllister, Zachary Shemon, Matthew Levy, Taimur Sullivan)

Note: Please check blog for latest updates on the project as additional dates and events will be announced and dates and time subject to change without notice.