‘Andrea’ by Leilani Heather

As the early eighties slowly creep into our fashionable subconscious, local artist Leilani Heather has been living in a world of neon lights and tizzed hair for years. Her most recent work revolves around one saucy little disco singer; Andrea True, who was also famous for her pornographic roles on film. Inspired by the need to get on the dance floor and feel that escapism when you let go of any potential exterior criticism, ‘Andrea’ feeds the tiny dancer in all of us.

Currently showing at Penny Sage‘s pop-up store, this is the second collaboration between the fashion designer and her circle of intelligent babes – the first being textile designer Marta Katarzyna Buda. It’s wonderful to see how effortlessly Penny Sage’s summer collection can both harmonise and play against the artist’s different energies and ideas. Not the biggest space in Auckland, but for sure one of the most exciting retail spaces we’ve experienced in a while. Make sure you get in there and see it while you can!

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Can you tell us about your new works at Penny Sage’s popup store?

My installation is called ‘Andrea’. It’s a little bit of a bleeding heart project but I’m pretty comfortable with that!

When did you start working on these works? And what were some of the ideas you were thinking of when creating these?

I started working on some of these works more than a year ago. They’ve been on the back burner as I’ve been working in response to general life events. The main ideas driving ‘Andrea’ are reflections on womanhood and dance therapy in response to grief. Adult life can be strange. The best way I have been able to process it is by creating works and by dancing. When I was a teenager I was in a jazz-hip-hop dance group with my friends. I was painfully shy and had to create a special space in my mind to get through performances because they were always terrifying. As an adult I access that head space any time I dance. It’s completely freeing and all of the big life things seem to fall by the wayside for a short while. Making work that reflected those feelings and ideas was super special to me.

This show works across a few mediums, how has that experience been for you?

I have really enjoyed it! It makes the possibilities endless. In the past I’ve worked a lot with photographic prints, moving image and ready-made sculpture but this is the first time I’ve created a light sculpture with neons which was really exciting. The work is called ‘True Connections’ and is definitely my favourite part of the installation.

I really like the idea of art and fashion coming together in one space. How did the idea of showing in Penny Sage popup store come about?

One of the first ideas that Kate and I brainstormed for the pop-up was showcasing local female artists associated with her label. We wanted the space to have a shared, collaborative feel where works and wears could co-exist. I think sharing a space with meaningful objects that have a sense of character and narrative in their own right is a really positive idea to cultivate in a retail setting, anti-decorative I guess.

What do you think of Auckland as a place for young creatives?

Auckland is undoubtably a beautiful location to live in and it can be a really exciting place to create work if you’re good at problem solving and don’t mind looking beyond your immediate locale. The outer suburbs and further are where the goods are in my opinion.

Aside from this show, what else have you been working on lately?

I have been working on a side project with my friend Talia Smith called ‘Single Brown Female’. We created an interactive exchange project as a part of a group show at Artspace called ‘W e l c o m e’. At the moment I’m preparing for a trip to New York where I’m going to shoot a Penny Sage campaign and a new personal project for 2015.

Who or what are some of your main influences?

For this project my main influence is Andrea True, a 1970’s disco singer who was also a famous pornographic actress. She was such a beauty and lived a very interesting life. ‘More, More, More’ is one of my all time favourite disco tracks and her movements in the video are perfect. Another influence was Roxy Music performing ‘Dance Away’ on Top of The Pops in 1979. I could watch that video on repeat forever. {ed. note: see below!}

What are some of your favourite places in the neighbourhood?

I like being home in St. Marys Bay with my friends and flatmates the most or down at Hamilton Beach Reserve for a swim when it’s warmer.

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The light sculpture: ‘True Connections’. The photograph: ‘Fun Factory’. The knife: ‘Cutting Shapes’ – all showing at Penny Sage Pop-up store, above Flotsam & Jetsam, 84 Ponsonby Road. 

See more of Leilani’s work at leilaniheather.com