A Moment in Time

Maider Lopez. Manchester Street billboards. Sept.2008. Ajr

Being a bit of a billboard addict, I rather like this SCAPE 2008 work by Maider Lopez of Spain – in fact, she’s one of my favourite artists among the very mixed bag at this year’s event. (If you click on ‘Scape Biennial’ on the label line below this post, you’ll be able to see her other work at Christchurch Art Gallery and a few by other participating artists). For this work she called on members of the public to take part in a photo shoot in Cashel Mall, whereby they were given assorted objects to hold and display while three photographers captured the action. The billboards illustrate the before and after space. www.scapebiennial.org.nz

Signs of Art

'Signs' Maider Lopez. Christchurch Art Gallery. Sept.2008. Ajr

Spanish Artist Maider Lopez has gone through Christchurch Art Gallery highlighting some of the buildings more functional aspects - all in the name of art and SCAPE 2008. All those little boxes and switches and buttons on the grey walls that you may never have noticed before, have suddenly taken on a much more interesting 'persona' - which all serves to highlight the fact that most of us sail through the average day missing an enormous amount of visual detail.

A Sign of the Times

Welcome to Christchurch!

Where we strictly monitor human movement!

Just kidding. It's really the sign drawing attention to the counting device above the Christchurch Art Gallery gift shop door. I thought it amusing.

I blame my over-active imagination!

In reality it is part of a gallery-wide work by Spanish artist, Maider Lopez, who is one of the 25 artists from 15 countries participating in SCAPE 2008 Wandering Lines: Towards a New Culture of Space, which officially opens on September 19. I do love artworks that 'spring out of nowhere' and make you rethink your everyday environment - and anything that draws attention to the proliferation of marketing text and signage in our urban environment gets a very big tick from me.

www.scapebiennial.org.nz