Louie Zalk-Neale

YEAR OF RESIDENCY
April - April 2026

McCahon House x Space for Contemporary Art Exchange Artist 2026

Louie Zalk-Neale (Ngāi Te Rangi, Pakehā) traveled to Seoul in April 2026 for the inaugural McCahon House x Space For Contemporary Art Exchange residency in Korea.

Based in the centre of Seoul, Louie also travelled to the Armistice Line close to North Korea and to Jeju Island, south of the Korean Peninsula. On Jeju Island, Louie exchanged knowledge with local experts who use harakeke in their customary basketry. “I knew there would be parallels between their fibre practices and ours back home, but to feel it all ā tinana [with the body] made it really impactful on all of us.”

Wanting to gain a global perspective of their practice, Louie enjoyed the challenge of bringing tikanga Māori into their interactions with local artists and arts organisations: “I resonated with the term inter-local — my practices from back home in Ōtaki could be confronted and literally intertwined with the nuances of the people and culture in the places I visited. We did karakia together, our fingers wove harakeke together, and our hair was intertwined with locally grown tī kōuka fibre. We ate local kai together, and exchanged gifts; all expressions of manaakitanga.”

Louie Zalk-Neale (Ngāi Te Rangi, Pākehā) is a performance artist and weaver whose practice emerges from tī kōuka, a treasured plant rich in fibre, mātauranga and mauri. Louie’s distinctive body of work uses textile adornment to catalyse the complex negotiations of performance art. Their tī kōuka ropes bind transgender identity with the transformative powers of tipua, atua and taniwha, reinforcing a vision of queerness as an indicator of healthy natural and cultural systems. With mentorship from weavers and contemporary artists including Neke Moa and Bridget Reweti, Louie’s practice evolves the customary art form of mahi tī kōuka while remaining grounded in tikanga. Their hosts include Govett-Brewster, Artspace Aotearoa, Māoriland, Auckland Pride, and Taipei Performing Arts Centre. They received an Arts Foundation Springboard Award in 2024, and their work is held in the permanent collection of Te Puna o Waiwhetū Christchurch Art Gallery.

Image captions (top to bottom):

Profile Image: Chantelle Gribbon

1: Louie spent time in wānanga at the home and archive of cultural expert Ko Gwang Min together with local harakeke weaver Kang Moon Sil, translator Jan K. Sim, coordinator Suengyeon Lee, Louie’s husband Yuval Zalk-Neale and their daughter Miri. Photo by Jan K. Sim.

2: Louie spent time with tī kōuka trees during their research trip to Harakeke Café in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, pictured with translator Jan K. Sim and coordinator Suengyeon Lee. Photo by Yuval Zalk-Neale.

3: At the conclusion of the residency, Louie and Korean artist EunSun Heo presented an intimate performance at the Seoul apartment in Jong-no District. Photo by Yuval Zalk-Neale.

4: At the conclusion of the residency, Louie and Korean artist EunSun Heo presented an intimate performance at the Seoul apartment in Jong-no District. Photo by Yuval Zalk-Neale.

UPCOMING
05.02.26
20th Anniversary