“Every joke is a tiny revolution” George Orwell.

Grave earnestness casts a long shadow in our nation’s art history, but some of our most daring artists possess a humour all their own. The comic takes centre stage in this exhibition, a showcase for the showstopping ability of comedy in portraiture to upset the established order and change the way we think and live together. Reaching across a half-century of portraiture in Aotearoa, this exhibition offers a potted history of how painters, photographers and video artists have snuck punchlines into the white cubes of the gallery, and to what end.

Curated by Matthew Whiteman, Liz Stringer Curatorial Intern 2025

Proudly sponsored by
Liz Stringer, Wellington City Council, Freemasons Foundation, The Oroya and Melvin Day Trust,
Aileen Drewitt Charitable Trust, Perpetual Guardian