BIO

Erica Sklenars is a Pōneke based artist and designer, working across the fields of mixed reality, video art, installation, performance and intervention. Her practice is often collaborative, and explores modes of communication between people and social groups, pop culture, underground cultures, as well as DIY adaptation or hacking of technology. Often using humor, Erica’s work subverts and contentedly inhabits personal human failures, and plays with future dystopian themes evident in current day life. Erica is currently a PHD student at COCA Massey, researching questions related to perception within extended reality technologies.

Erica creates both solo performative intervention works, and collaborative audio-visual performance installation (often under the pseudonym Lady Lazer Light) working with sound artists and musicians to create performance environments and experiences. Erica has worked regularly touring and creating stage installations with NZ bands and artists such as Orchestra of Spheres, The All seeing Hand, Lord Echo, The Black Seeds and Estere.

Erica has exhibited internationally and undertaken several Art residencies, such as Hong Kong’s Insitu Residency in 2019. In 2015 Sklenars received the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange scholarship for a 3 month residency with Red Gate Gallery, Beijing in 2015, and was invited back by the gallery in 2017 for a second residency.

Erica has also created several large scale installations for NZ based events, including Lux Light Festival Wellington, The Performance arcade, The Chinese New Year Zodiac Arts Trail, Urban Dream Brokerage and Gig City, Weta Digital events with Koko Creative, and leading Aotearoa fashion label Nom*D’s collection launch at ID Fashion week.

RESIDENCIES:

2019
In-Situ Residency, Hong Kong
Leeston Library Digital Artist Residency, Selwyn, NZ

2017
Red Gate Residency, Beijing, China

2015
Red Gate Residency, Beijing, China

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS / Festivals

2021
Horse – Chinese New Year Zodiac Arts Trail, WELLINGTON
ORACLE 2.0 – Lights on Bikes Festival, WHANGANUI

2020
Catacombs Festival, AUCKLAND

2019
Solo Exhibition – Planet Obsolescence – Ramp Gallery, Hamilton
The Performance Arcade, Wellington,
Container work: Planet Obsolescence
Home Movies – Group show as part of AURA Festival of Artist Moving Images, curated by CIRCUIT
Pleasure District – Holographic Installation for Weta Digital end of year Party

2018:
Hildelund Arts Festival: Sweden
Fusion Festival, Germany
Set/performance design for Nom*D, ID Fashion Week, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2017:
Into the Light: Installation for Weta Digital Christmas Party 2017
Storm Channels: Surveillance Cradle Tests a series of interventions at various ARI events: (None Gallery, The Anteroom, Dirt Gallery, Savoie de Lacy Gallery, YYY, Club 6), Dunedin
Lux Light Festival: Augmented Geometries, Wellington
Red Gate Open Studio, March 2017, Beijing, China
Planet Obsolescence: Interactive Audio Visual Installation for Urban Dream Brokerage’s Gig City Award, Dunedin.


2016
Mason's Square Screening of Popsicle for the month of June, curated by Circuit
15 Years of A low Hum: Directed a series of installations and performances for 2 day outdoor festival at Tatum Park, put on by A Low Hum

2015
Wellington Asia Residency Exchange Red Gate Residency September – November 2015 Exhibitions:
Di'erSite Specific Group Show – I: Project Space, Beijing, China
Red Gate Open Studio, November 2015, Beijing, China
Red Gate Open Studio, October 2015, Beijing, China
Red Gate Open Studio, September 2015, Beijing, China
16th OPEN International Performance Art Festival at Space Station Gallery, 798 Arts District, Beijing

Only Girl in The world Container series – The Performance Arcade, Wellington

2014
Performance Series –Group Show – 30 Upstairs, Wellington
One Night Only – Solo Exhibition – None Gallery, Dunedin
Lady Lazer Light – Solo Exhibition – Pyramid Club, Wellington

2012
Star – Video exhibited at Square2 – City Gallery Wellington
Ephemeral Traces – Group show, Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington
Launch of Nineteen Tory St – Group show, Nineteen Tory St, Wellington
Camp A Low Hum Exhibition – Group Show, Wainuiomata

2011
Typical Girls – Group Show, New Zealand Film Archives, Wellington
Campus A Low Hum Exhibition – Group Show, Flock House, Bulls

2009
Role. Play – Group show, Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington
This is Not a Rock Shop – Group show, DAF106 Gallery, Wellington
Tickle My Fancy – Solo Video exhibition, Edith Gallery, Whanganui

2008
Carey Smith & Co Ltd Whanganui Arts Review, Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui
MOVE! – ArtNetLab new media group exhibition Mestna Galerija (City Gallery), Ljubljana, Slovenia.



Other RESIDENCIES:
 

BEIJING, CHINA, Red Gate invitation Residency, March 2017

BEIJING, CHINA: WARE Wellington Asia Residency Exchange Red Gate Residency: September – November 2015

HAGENBERG, AUSTRIA
and
LJUBLJIANA, SLOVENIA: THE LEONARDO PROJECT: January - June 2008:
A collaboration design and engineering schools in Europe and New Zealand to develop a unique multi-cultural word-class learning experience in Interaction Technology and Design.

BERLIN, GERMANY: Residency as Visual Artist for POPLARS AND ROCKS club night at Madame Claude:  September 2011 - January 2012:

 

Other FESTIVALS

2015

Dunedin Fringe Festival, Dunedin NZ
Cuba Dupa, Wellington, NZ
One Fest, Dunedin, NZ
Borderline Festival, Auckland, NZ

 

2015

China Drifting Festival, Beijing and Shanghai, China
The Performance Arcade, Wellington
Lines of Flight, Dunedin
Chronophonium, Coromandel

2014
Pyramid Power, Wellington
Nowhere Festival – The Audio Foundation, Auckland
Camp a Low Hum, Wainuiomata

2013
Camp a Low Hum, Wainuiomata
 

2012
Homegrown, Wellington
Camp a Low Hum, Wainuiomata
 

2011
Campus a Low Hum, Bulls
Fredstock, Wellington
Lines of Flight, Dunedin
Tiger Translate, Wellington
Fresh Vibes, Germany
Tropen Tango, Germany
The Harz Mountains, Germany
Audio Foundation Hub Launch, Auckland, New Zealand

2010
Around the Wireless, Hawkes Bay
Sonorous Circle, Wellington
City of Dreams, (A Low Hum) Wellington