The Big Picture

'Pulse', Darryn George, Christchurch Art Gallery, March 2008, Ajr

WOW! The classic white cube of the Sutton Gallery at Christchurch Art Gallery has been transformed and it looks magnificent. Christchurch-based artist, Darryn George’s PULSE is grabbing attention. I leaned against the entrance yesterday, listening to passers-by. Their first reaction was invariably astonishment. A team of painters has spent two and a half weeks transferring George’s elaborate design - inspired by the colours and patterns of Maori art and the architectural detail of traditional Maori meeting houses - onto the four walls of the gallery - approximately 300sqm floor-to-ceiling. The large rear wall is in fact a giant ‘wordscape’ created from the Maori word waru, which means eight – George’s reference to “a spiritual time and space beyond the seven days of the week.” The once-simple Sutton Gallery is powerful now, reverential almost. How nice if they could leave it this way.

Perfect Pages

Books from the Kelmscott Press showing as part of Morris & Co

Wellington’s Alexander Turnbull Library has kindly lent the Christchurch Art Gallery what is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding books ever printed. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer is a treasure to behold – around 600 pages of elaborate William Morris designs and over 80 illustrations. Produced by William Morris’s Kelmscott Press in 1896, it is part of the major exhibition Morris & Co now showing at the gallery. Kelmscott Press was William Morris’s last major artistic and design venture and between 1891 and 1898 it produced fifty-two titles. A small selection of Kelmscott Press books is part of the show - a little something for book-lovers like me to drool over.

Patternmaker

Excuse me while I go slightly dotty over Morris & Co - one of the most important design exhibitions to come to New Zealand and showing exclusively at Christchurch Art Gallery. I’m just back from the media preview where I found myself mesmerised by William Morris’s leafy swirls, his exquisite layering of pattern on pattern and his obvious passion for nature. Drawn from the extensive William Morris collections of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (one of the leading William Morris collections in the world and the biggest outside the United Kingdom), it presents everything from curtain fabrics, carpets, upholstery fabrics, wallpapers, tapestries, furniture, books and embroideries all designed between 1860- early 1900s; and all as fresh as they were 100years ago. It’s a stunning interplay of colour, pattern and texture and given that New Zealand is reputedly the biggest market for William Morris fabrics outside of the United Kingdom (and Timaru the biggest market within New Zealand), it ought to go down a real treat here. I especially like the ‘reproduced living room’ with reading materials and a swirl of reproduced WM on the foyer floor; the colourful billboards around town; the council car done out in William Morris pattern; and the fact that gallery seats have been re-upholstered in William Morris fabrics. The exhibition runs at Christchurch Art Gallery from March 14 – June 29. www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz/MorrisandCo

Outer Spaces

Top: Tecomanthe, Peter Peryer; Bottom: Wall Painting 218, Jan van der Ploeg
There’s a little bit of hide and seek going on at Christchurch Art Gallery. They’re making us look beyond the gallery walls to find the art – well, not all of it of course, just certain pieces tucked away in odd corners, raised high overhead, or flying high on outside banners. The programme – Outer Spaces – really kicks off from April onward but the big floral banner, Tecomanthe by leading New Zealand photographer, Peter Peryer is already installed high above the main doors of the entrance foyer; and Wall Painting No 218 by Jan van der Ploeg strides boldly down the side corridor that leads to the public toilets. There’s much more to come – an underground car park bursting with colour and sound; “an enigmatic object on the roofline;” cascades of digital pattern, mannequins, a large canine and attention-grabbing billboards. A great way to enliven contemporary art perceptions, to tease viewers with the unexpected and to generally bring the gallery to life. http://www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz/

Two Views

Auckland was in top photographic shape when I visited during my 2007 Frommers road trip. These are two of my favourite views: top - looking back towards the city from the Hilton Hotel and Princes Wharf; bottom - looking down toward the Ascott Metropolis (right) from the top of Albert Park.

Meet The People 1

Wesley Golledge, Christchurch.

And so begins a new series.....Meet The People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders doing interesting things.

Wesley Golledge was just a university student looking for a part-time job to pay the bills when he applied to become a punter on Christchurch’s Avon River. Now, 18 years later, he owns the company (Punting on the Avon) and is still to get his history degree. “After my second week on the job I knew I’d found something I’d love doing,” he says. Keen to expand his fleet to ten boats, Wesley wants to cement the punting operation as one of Christchurch’s iconic tourist attractions. www.punting.co.nz

The Spaces Between 5

SKYTOWER from the street, Auckland, 2007. Ajr.

Where the Godwits Go

You’ve got to love a city that reveres its bird life. Christchurch is the sort of place where in spring, a mother duck and her sixteen fluffy ducklings can stop inner city traffic for a whole block while she waddles across the road from the Avon River to wherever she has decided to take her babies. Everyone stops. People take photographs. Now it’s the turn of the godwits – a time when hundreds of people gather out on Southshore to farewell the bar-tailed godwits as they set off on their arduous journey back to Alaska. They come here every year to feed on the rich estuary banks of Southshore Spit; then in April, over a four week period, they fly out in groups - 11,000km back to Alaska, via China. It’s an astounding feat and when the last birds have gone the Christchurch Cathedral rings its bells. Lovely! In a world saturated with bad news, I think it’s important to remember the small inspiring stories.

Poverty Tourism

Bored with Paris? Sick of perfect tropical islands? Had enough of shopping in New York? Then how about slumming it? Literally! Take your pick between the slums of Mumbai in India; Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Mazatian in Mexico or Cape Town in South Africa. Call it Poverty Tourism, Reality Tours, or just plain unsavoury voyeurism – you can now take guided tours into all these areas. Organisers will argue that it “raises awareness about poverty, fights stereotypes and brings money into destitute areas that wouldn’t otherwise benefit from tourism;” but as others argue, if you’re so concerned about helping these people, then just write them a cheque. True, ignoring poverty won’t make it go away but does ogling the destitute really constitute aid? You decide – and if you want to know more, I have the websites, the prices, the press releases.

Floral Fun

These brightly coloured flower icons are the new brand for the Ellerslie International Flower Show Christchurch. Having purchased Auckland’s highly successful Ellerslie International Flower Show for a cool NZ$1.9million, the Christchurch City Council was keen to come up with something “fresh, vibrant and fun.” I like the graphics. I think they do the trick nicely. But I have mixed feelings about the name of the event - why can’t it just be the Christchurch International Flower Show? Would Auckland have retained the name Christchurch if they’d bought it off us? Not likely! And as for the so-called “magnificent, innovative, inspirational” gold medal winning Ellerslie Experience garden on display in a tent on the Archery Lawn of the Botanic Gardens, I personally found it a total anti-climax after the visual promise of those colourful and lively graphics. Clever and sustainable? Probably. Visually enticing? Hardly.Thank goodness they have a whole year to come up with something spectacular.

The Golden South

Driveway, Millbrook Resort, Queenstown, 2007 Ajr.

It’s March and here in Christchurch the mornings are becoming darker, the days chillier, the evenings longer. The air seems swollen with the feel of autumn. Few places are as pretty in autumn as Arrowtown, near Queenstown, even further south. The landscape there will soon be draped in gold, yellow and red. That's where you'll find Millbrook Resort- tucked under the mountains and surrounded by a halo of gold. I photographed these poplars along their entrance driveway when I was visiting during my Frommers New Zealand research in the autumn last year.

Words For Autumn

Mellowgolden russetleavessmokechills fruitrichnessredyellowsienna fullnessripefruitseedspodsmushroomscalmperfectstillnessdampgoldenbrownpinklemonblackberry

Sailing Away

This is what came 'sailing across' my computer screen this afternoon - a short-notice invitation to indulge in a spot of match racing between former America's Cup yachts NZL40 and NZL41. Sadly, given prior commitments, I had to waive this singular chance to join the crew tomorrow for a 3-hour 'spin' from Auckland's Viaduct Harbour out across the blue, blue waters of the Waitemata Harbour. Sitting here, on a cool autumn Christchurch afternoon, it's a big temptation - I can think of few things nicer right now than a warm Auckland breeze blowing through my hair. Another time perhaps - there's always room to fantasise about joining the billionaire yachting set. www.explorenz.co.nz

Design Spot 5

Akaroa-based New Zealand jeweller, Peter McKay likens his Metaphysical Heart brooches to miniature soap operas – “I like to set up little plays and tensions, little scenes where human dramas play out.” He considers jewellery “a vehicle for storytelling” and whatever his ‘frame’ – heart, arch, dog tag, his little cast of recurring characters – girl, crow, boat, crucifix, Brancusi column – combine to create captivating miniature silver ‘worlds.’ Very much inspired by art and the Surrealist movement, he’s never “bought into that whole South Pacifica stone, bone, shell thing.” Instead, he suggested with a wry grin when I interviewed him last week, “we in the south grit our teeth and look toward the southerly, leaving those in the Auckland to stare toward the heat of the tropics.”

Get Lost

Getting lost is part of the fun of travel for me but I agree that sometimes, losing your way is just a nuisance. Some bright spark agrees and they’ve come up with a solution for travellers who really can’t cope with getting lost. A couple of weeks ago the Banks Peninsula Information Centre rolled out a new tourist information GPS system – a rental GPS unit, which delivers commentaries and information via the car radio. Just plug it into the car cigarette lighter, tune the radio and wherever you go on the peninsula, you’ll get a story relevant to the area – poems, songs and tales recited by school children and local identities. All this for NZ$10 – and that includes a CD version of the commentaries to take home.

The Back of Beyond

I am excited and terrified all at once. One month from now I will be spending ten days in the Australian Outback – that vast red expanse that American travel writer, Bill Bryson called “the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents – a place that has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else.” I figure if Bryson, a man invariably photographed wearing a tweed jacket, can go to Australia and survive the Outback, then so can I. The Outback is home to the Australian feral camel – that’s why I’m going - to join a 70-kilometre camel wagon safari from the tiny south-west Queensland town of Cunnamulla to attend the Noorama Picnic Races. I’m expecting Aussie larrikinism at its best and I’m hoping not to see a single snake – especially given that Australia is home to nine of the world’s ten deadliest. And let’s not even discuss the fact that the Cunnamulla area is home to 13 different snake species!

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes

BVC - 'Exec'

I am delighted that one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded printmakers has submitted a selection of images for me to display here as a regular feature. Characterised by his wry wit, his astute observations and relentless sense of humour, I'm sure they will enjoyed by everyone – especially those with a healthy appreciation for the bizarre, the quirky, the unexpected, the thought-provoking.

Waste Not, Want Not

Here’s a travel opportunity adventure freaks won’t want to miss – a guided tour along the Golan Heights Sewage System in Israeli Occupied Territories - and you thought you’d seen everything. It seems the Golan Regional Council has decided the region’s drainage system can potentially become a bonafide tourist attraction. I received the press release this afternoon. I don’t think I’ll be signing up any time soon – despite promises of innovative sewage processes, an insight into the production of electricity from cow dung and the use of purified sewage water to irrigate the area’s fields.

Dinosaur Days

Limestone outcrops and fossils, Claremont Country Estate.

If you stay at Claremont Country Estate in the heart of North Canterbury’s limestone country (see previous post below), you’re in for a big surprise – a free 4WD journey of discovery that will take your breath away. The riverbeds of Claremont Estate are riddled with secrets – hidden pre-historic treasures and more ancient fossils than you can poke a stick at. This is where you can stroke a 60 million-year-old fossilised dinosaur bone on a river bank! There have been amazing discoveries here. In 1872 Alexander McKay discovered the fossilised remains of a Plesiosaur (now in Canterbury Museum); and in 2004, a one-metre Mosasaur skull was discovered. Over the years, more than 134 vertebrate remains have been removed from the property for study. I was most intrigued by the huge spherical boulders – ‘God’s Marbles’ – that are found along the banks of the Waipara River. These 65 million-year-old limestone spheres, 1-2 metres in diameter, have evolved around fragments of dinosaur bones and over a period of about 4 million years, have grown like pearls to the size they are today. Over 230 of them have been removed from Claremont and shipped to museums around the world. This tour was one of the most exciting things I’ve done – totally breathtaking and all very “Jurassic Park.” I half expected to walk around a limestone outcrop and come face to face with Sam Neill and a flock of Pterodactyls. With my imagination already in overdrive, perhaps it’s lucky I didn’t. www.claremont-estate.com

North Canterbury Comforts

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day at Claremont Country Estate, in Waipara Gorge, one hour north of Christchurch. There, amid spectacular scenery, Richard and Rosie Goord have created a gorgeous intimate lodge in one of Canterbury’s notable country homesteads. Claremont, built in 1866 from hand cut limestone blocks quarried on the property, is listed with NZ Historic Places Trust (Cat.2). The Goords enlisted Christchurch architect, Stewart Ross to renovate and extend the property and today guests can sink into its sublime comforts, safe in the knowledge that their every whim will be catered to. Not surprisingly, highly regarded American hospitality critic, Andrew Harper named it his Grand Award Winner for New Zealand, 2008. With its wide, wisteria-clad verandahs, its big rooms and the hospitality of its hosts, it has a wonderful ‘homely’ feel to it – relaxed, friendly, easy; but best of all, the total silence (but for the bids) and the tranquillity. Life in the country - that’s the thing! I was very taken by the fact that, while I was there a blue heron landed on the chimney. Surely that must be a sign of good luck? http://www.claremont-estate.com/