Exhibitions

^{Image: Production shot for Luke Willis Thompson, Soro (2025). Photo: Stephen Cleland}

The exhibition includes the first Aotearoa presentation of Whakamoemoeā (2024), first exhibited at Sharjah Biennial 16. Whakamoemoeā figures recognised broadcaster, journalist, and politician, Oriini Kaipara, who delivers a powerful address in te reo Māori on the Waitangi grounds. Set in 2040, Whakamoemoeā imagines a constitutional transformation of Aotearoa, which transitions from a colonial Westminster-style governance to an Indigenous plurinational state, fulfilling the visionary aspirations of the 2016 report Matike Mai Aotearoa, originally championed by the late lawyer and intellectual Moana Jackson.

The exhibition is also the inaugural presentation of a new work in this series, which is similarly set in a not-too-distant future. Named after the i soro, a traditional Fijian model of reconciliation, Soro (2025) envisions a reenactment of the 2021 Dawn Raids Apology. Filmed in analogue black and white 35mm film, Thompson creates a dream-like atmosphere where an inferred yet unnamed Prime Minister delivers the speech out of frame. The camera focuses entirely on recognised NZSL interpreter Alan Wendt, who delivers and performs the address in Aotearoa's third official language. Set ten years after former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s apology, Thompson's film imagines a bold and expansive set of reparations, including comprehensive compensation for victims of the raids, unrestricted travel for Pacific people to and from Aotearoa, and reparations for harms caused by climate change.

^{Whakamoemoeā was commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation and produced by Ordinary Films and Kura Productions. Soro was commissioned by Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery and received generous support from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s Niu Dawn Initiative, administered by Creative New Zealand, as well as the Gow Family Foundation, and Kodak Ltd. Courtesy of the artist, Coastal Signs, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, and Galerie Nagel Draxler, Cologne/Berlin.}

^{Image: Gil Hanly studio, November 2025, Photo by Nat Tozer.}

Yet, a quick survey of her archives also reveals a tendency to focus on what might be termed undocumented communities. In these photographs, Hanly developed a singular body of photographs exploring easily overlooked experiences of the working class, the unemployed, and the disenfranchised. Well away from the spotlight, it is through these tender works that we witness Hanly's singular vision, her determination to capture life here in Aotearoa, her keen sense of justice — an unwavering and honest lens.

Undocumented is a focused exhibition that provides a rare glimpse into the archives of this important photographer.