Christchurch. July 2009. Ajr
When I was out walking on Sunday,
I took myself off to one of my favourite art spots, The Kiosk, a tiny Tardis-like exhibition space that stands at the juncture of High, Manchester and Lichfield Streets courtesy of
The Physics Room. I was saddened to see vandals had finally taken to it – that the glass box had been smashed in and piles of broken glass had fallen in on the exhibition piece.
At least I’m ASSUMING it was an act of destruction. One never quite knows with contemporary art. There’s always the danger that, what I think to be an act of vandalism may actually be a total piss-take by some over-energised creative mind. But I’m going with my first instincts – that this magic little ‘showroom’ has been wilfully destroyed. That said,
there seemed to me a strange beauty there – something chilling and austere and broken that fitted the freezing climes of the day. I loved the changes in texture and the way the light shone through glass clear and opaque, whole and shattered. I liked the peep-hole effect, through and over the work, to
the architecture of the streetscape beyond. It’s hard to know what the artist was originally intending of their exhibit – and sorry, I don’t know who the artist is/was – but judging by the flimsy, inconsequential remains, I’d venture to say (somewhat critically), that the work has gained strength in the demolition. But that’s only my opinion.
You can see The Kiosk in many of its earlier guises by clicking on The Kiosk in the label line below this post. www.physicsroom.org.nz
If The Physics Room website is all up to date, this work at The Kiosk in Christchurch is by Anya Henis (Sept.25-Oct22). I don’t know a thing about her or her work and the website doesn’t elaborate either. I’ve mentioned more than once that The Kiosk is one of my favourite miniature exhibition spaces in the city, although the occasions when I get really excited by what’s on show there can be counted on one hand. 
This is another time where I have walked around it feeling slightly deflated. Although the concept – ‘crating up The Kiosk’ and working on the exterior of it instead of within its small glass showcase - may have had initial merit, I think its execution is a little on the shabby side and potential has not been realised. (I may seem old-fashioned but I still believe the actual 'crafting' of an artwork is just as important as the concept and ideas it is supposed to express). The four exterior artworks ‘say’ nothing at all to me – nor, in my opinion, to each other. But it does bring colour to the pedestrian intersection and it does match the pansies in the neighbouring garden, so it’s not all bad. www.physicsroom.org.nz 
