Over recent years, moving image artworks have been a developing area of growth within the Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s collection.
Recent acquisitions have included Kawita Vatanajyankur’s Dye (2018), John Vea’s Concrete is as concrete doesn’t (2017), what was or could be today (again) (2019) by Shannon Te Ao, Angela Tiatia’s Holding On (2015) and The Dark Current (2023), and Shireen Taweel’s 5364 nocturne (2024).
Based in Warrane, Sydney, Taweel is a multi-disciplinary research-led artist whose work considers the histories and futurisms of collective space, materiality and cultural practice. In recent years her work has explored the influence of celestial navigation technologies of Arabic astronomy on the future movement of people through migration and pilgrimage.
Known for her intricate handmade copper sculptures, Taweel produced three copper navigational devices: a quadrant, astrolabe and qibla compass.
By tracking specific stars and planets at particular times of the night, the devices informed the direction of a performative and speculative Hajj pilgrimage that started in Ōtepoti Dunedin and moved northwest across the South Island, ending on the West Coast.
It was the beginning of a journey during the final month of the 2024 Muslim lunar calendar that continued across Australia and ended in Karrajarri Country on Australia’s west coast.
Across two works produced in 2024-25, the number 5364 reflects the nautical miles of this journey.
Developed as a speculative fiction, 5364 nocturne is a record of this pilgrimage in Aotearoa New Zealand. Embodying a ‘‘Hajjanaut’’ (a pilgrim navigating in the direction of Mecca in space), Taweel traverses whenua using non-digital technology, performing specific rituals and wearing a garment that alludes to both space travel and traditional pilgrimage attire.
When speaking about 5364 nocturne and the accompanying exhibition of the same name, Taweel said ‘‘I came to my questions of migration in celestial navigation without any knowledge of astronomy’’.
‘‘But what has really captivated my imagination as an artist is how all the astronomy and cultural astronomy, as we know it today, has been built on the power of observation.
‘‘This has led to these extraordinarily sophisticated technologies, instruments and infrastructure, but it is all underpinned by observation. We all have the power to learn through observation.
‘‘I would also hope that the exhibition offers an opportunity for the audience to engage with their own sensibility of pilgrimage, in all forms of scale, whether it be spiritually or culturally. I hope it reminds people that everyone has a connection to the night sky in a multitude of different ways. It is an engagement that has had a fundamental role in shaping the world.’’
5364 nocturne is currently on display in ‘‘Te Ahikāroa — Artists & Stories of Dunedin Public Art Gallery’’, a new collection-focused exhibition that runs across the ground floor galleries. In a room dedicated to moving image, Taweel’s work sits alongside what was or could be today (again) (2019) by Shannon Te Ao and The Dark Current (2023) by Angela Tiatia.
• Lauren Gutsell is a curator at Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
