Posted in Christchurch - Central, tagged arts, mural, Ruth Gardner on 14 January 2023| 2 Comments »
A mural I hadn’t seen before is on the fence outside Rydges Hotel in Oxford Terrace. It features birds and reptiles of Aotearoa, and is by Chilean born artist Rodrigo Rozas.
I love all these images, and like to think that the people in town for the Buskers’ Festival will admire them too.
I hope that you will spread the words
so folk can see these native birds
Posted in Christchurch - wider, tagged arts, mural, Ruth Gardner on 21 November 2022| 1 Comment »
I found another mural I hadn’t seen before. This one is at 150 Colombo Street, on the wall of Formaggio’s Restaurant. It’s by Flox, and is titled An Ode to Hinewai. Hugh Wilson of Hinewai is featured in the top right-hand corner. I love the birds and flowers, and have admired other murals by Flox. The abundance of street art adds to the pleasure of walking around Christchurch.
It’s good to find another mural
around the city they are plural
Posted in Christchurch - Central, tagged arts, mural, Ruth Gardner on 1 November 2022| Leave a Comment »
This is a mural I hadn’t noticed before although I frequently visit the Art Gallery. It’s on the rear wall of the Gallery and is by Kelcy Taratoa.
The mural is about how we are bound together. Its overlapping forms have shapes that are reminiscent of land, sea, and sky.
These are some most intriguing shapes
reminding us of far landscapes
Posted in Cafes & Restaurants, Christchurch - Central, Films/Shows/Talks, Taking a Walk, tagged arts, Ruth Gardner on 31 July 2022| Leave a Comment »
Rain was pelting down early on Sunday morning and the weather was definitely not suitable for beach walking. By 10am the rain was clearing so we decided to walk through the Botanic Gardens. The river had overflowed, and ducks were enjoying new places to swim.
At the Central Art Gallery in the Arts Centre we found an exhibition by Hannah Kidd. I’ve enjoyed her work before, and was keen to see these new pieces. Seven of them are sculptures of dogs, made from steel and corrugated iron, all extremely lifelike and very attractive.
Hannah has also painted and glazed a number of pots on different themes. An attendant kindly lifted the lids on these to demonstrate how each has an appropriate aroma inside. I had to take a photo of the one which showed a flamingo:
Another depicting Putin did not appeal:
The delicate one with cats is inspired by a blog the artist follows called 12catslady. One of the paw-traits looked like Ziggy:
Bunsen Cafe was handy for a morning snack, with sparrows perched inside waiting for crumbs.
A large raspberry and chocolate muffin meant I didn’t need lunch when I got home.
A stimulating way to spend
a dull day on a wet weekend
Posted in Films/Shows/Talks, tagged arts, Ruth Gardner on 7 June 2022| 5 Comments »
The story of the Japanese Prisoners of War who were interned in Featherston in the 1940s is a fascinating one, not well known in Aotearoa. Richard Bullen, the Associate Professor of Japanese Art History at the University of Canterbury gave an engrossing talk about these men and the art they created. 850 Japanese men had been captured and were on their way to Aotearoa before the American forces told our government they were coming.
On 1 September 1942 the N.Z. Government made the decision to house them at Featherston where there had been a World War One military training camp, which was now bare. On 8 September troops were sent to make the area ready, put up tents, etc, and on 12 September the Japanese arrived. They were given old WWI uniforms to wear, including lemon-squeezer hats. Their names and occupations were recorded, but it’s apparent that the names, and probably many of the occupations were false. For all the time they were interned they had no correspondence with their families back in Japan.
The prisoners were expected to join work parties, as allowed under the Geneva Convention, but these ordinary men had no idea their government had signed the Geneva Convention and they resisted the call to work. In 1943 this led to a riot where 48 Japanese and one New Zealander were killed.
Huts were built to replace the tents the prisoners were first housed in, and remnants of building materials were used by them to create artworks, mainly relief sculptures. Their tools were made from wire, nails, and cutlery. They used these nostalgic Japanese pictures to decorate their quarters and to trade with the guards for cigarette tobacco. They also carved some NZEF badges, which were presumably commissioned by guards. Some materials, e.g. coloured paints, were donated to the prisoners by the Red Cross and the Society of Friends (Quakers). Paua shell used for decoration probably came from the same sources, as it was known to have been given to the 20 Japanese civilians housed in a camp at Pahiatua. The chaplain Hessell Troughton established an organised system for making and selling items of art. All the items were well made, especially considering the artists were amateurs, although art was a compulsory subject in all Japanese schools from the 1890s.
The prisoners also made Mah Jong sets, and/or playing cards from cigarette packets. They practised ikebana and were surprised at the lack of botanical knowledge among the guards and camp staff. When the Japanese left at the end of 1945 they took some items they’d made with them, but couldn’t take them all as some were large wooden pieces. Some can now be seen in the Featherston Heritage Museum and the Waiouru Army Museum. Richard and his colleague published a book about this art which brought great interest from Japanese media, but nothing from the Japanese public.
No contact with folks far away
art must have helped to fill their day
Posted in Christchurch - Central, tagged arts, Ruth Gardner on 24 May 2022| Leave a Comment »
An exciting addition to the east of the central city is The Art Shop gallery, located in the lovely old art deco M.E.D. building in Armagh Street, opposite the Margaret Mahy Family Playground.
They have a great selection of paintings and sculpture, and everything is for sale. It reminded me a little of COCA gallery years ago.
The first item that caught my eye was Phoenix by Christian Vee, with wings that move up and down.
A striking portrait of John Lennon in Ukrainian colours was called Give Peace a Chance. The Beatles seem to be topical at the moment. I enjoyed a documentary about them on Maori TV a couple of weeks ago, and I see that their music is coming to the Town Hall next month.
Lovely mosaics by Jane Santos featured Wellington buildings.
I coveted the Quail Family, but the price of $950 was outside my budget, and I don’t have a suitable place to display it.
There’s lots more to see, and I shall certainly go again. It will be interesting to see how the stock changes as items are sold. There are plans for a wine and coffee bar too.
I’m pleased to see this new art shop
with works that I thought were tiptop.
Posted in Christchurch - Central, Creative writing by Ruth, tagged arts, Ruth Gardner on 23 April 2022| 4 Comments »
streets stream with artworks
some there for years
like elephants on Manchester
others are brand new
a giant cat on St Asaph
these portraits delight me
more obscure ones
show video games
alien cartoon characters
perhaps familiar
to the younger generation
I stop and think
their worth is in the eye
of the beholder
it can be a fine line
between street art and graffiti
Posted in Cottage Life, Travel in Australasia, tagged arts, Ashburton, Ruth Gardner on 12 April 2022| 4 Comments »
The Zonta Ashburton Female Art Award was the reason I’d been keen for a trip to Ashburton. This award supports emerging and mid-career female artists in Canterbury, and the exhibition of the finalists is on display at the Ashburton Art Gallery until April 24th.
The array of works was impressive. Here are some that particularly struck me:
Art Chemist by Audrey Baldwin is an interactive installation and performance which connects people in a playful yet earnest therapeutic environment. Audrey is a Christchurch artist, whose performances I’ve enjoyed in the past . Art Chemist was installed in Cathedral Junction last year, but I didn’t manage to see it then. I’m delighted to report that Audrey won the Premier Award at this exhibition, which means she will have a solo exhibition at the Gallery next year.
Veil of Invisibility by Coral Broughton speaks of how older women tend to be overlooked. Coral says “The process of aging can be seen as an opportunity for re-definition where aging is seen as a desirable condition which allows freedom to live outside the gaze.”
Boys Will be Boys by Alice Jones makes a strong statement about women’s experience of intimate partner violence.
Monobloc is by Jorja Shadbolt, one of the young generation finalists. It is a disturbing image which portrays her feelings of worthlessness after the end of a relationship.
COVID ashes by Jenny Wilson was the piece that most appealed to me and I gave it my vote in the People’s Choice ballot. The ceramic moths are Jenny’s response to COVID-19 TV images of rows of bodies, funeral pyres, and suffering beyond our comprehension.
Jenny says: “I make the moths from soft white clay printed with vintage lace, and fire them first in an electric kiln. Each one is then carefully wrapped in a paper parcel with copper wire, seaweed, sawdust, and eggshells. I fire one moth at a time in my home log-burner, cocooned within a tin-can saggar (protective box). Each night I light a fire, and each morning I uncover a moth from the ashes. It is a meditation of sorts.
*******
We also went to the Ashburton Salvation Army Family Store, where a large mass-produced picture of a flamingo caught my eye. Stephen offered to buy it for me, so it came home with us, and is now hanging on the lounge wall. It may look a little tacky, but it’s pink, and fun, and that’s what I need in this time of Pandemic, War in Ukraine, and Climate Crisis.
So many artworks to be seen
including this Flamingo Queen
Posted in Cafes & Restaurants, Christchurch - Central, Taking a Walk, tagged arts, Cats, Christchurch, Flare street art festival, Ruth Gardner on 17 March 2022| 4 Comments »
Christine and I decided this morning we would walk into town and try to find those of the murals from the Flare Festival which Stephen and I had missed last week. Down Manchester Street we found a display for Slap City, a recent Paste-up and Sticker Festival which I hadn’t known about.
Murals which had been only partly painted last week were now complete, and we were delighted to find this giant cat mural by Swiftmantis. It’s actually right outside the part of the Little High Eatery where Stephen and I had lunch last week, but we’d missed it. A passing woman kindly took our picture holding the cat’s paws.
Round the corner we found a 2019 mural by DCypher and OiYou showing local historical scenes including the McKenzie and Willis building, all painted as a negative film strip.
By this time we needed refreshment and stopped at Lemon Tree for morning tea. This café is an old favourite and while the ambience inside is fascinating, I prefer to sit outside these days as a Covid precaution. (We got a passing dog walker to take our photo.)
We found a further Flare mural at 87 Manchester Street but weren’t sure just what this one was supposed to be. I discovered later it is by Ikarus and shows an eclectic array of video games and cartoon characters.
Another Flare mural was at 198 St Asaph Street, painted by Meep, a local artist:
Heading down Colombo Street we had a chance to enjoy the bird mural on the South Frame which I’d often seen from the car, but not been close to before:
Near this was a portrait of Sir Ernest Rutherford by Jacob Yikes, DCypher, and Ikarus, which is part of the Flare Festival.
So much to see on city walls
great street art work that just enthralls
Posted in Mauri Ora, Rituals & Spirituality, tagged arts, Ruth Gardner on 16 March 2022| 4 Comments »
A wonderful new mural on the bunker outside the Art Gallery depicts Māori goddesses/atua wāhine. It’s the work of Kāi Tahu artist Xoë Hall, for whom these Goddesses are super badass ancestors.
Hine-tītama is the flashing red dawn, who becomes Hine-nui-te-pō, the atua of night and receiver of souls in the afterlife.
Mahuika, atua of fire, appears with her flaming manicure, shining a light on the past, while being a torch for the future.
The trickster Māui is shown in lizard form, referencing the time he tried to crawl through Hine-nui-te-pō to reverse the cycle of death and she awoke, slamming her thighs shut on that idea, and therefore bringing mortality to all mankind.
The Goddesses are given form
with colours that are bright and warm
Ruth's Reflections 