Waiheke Island, Auckland – 27 January-19 February 2017
A not to be missed bi-annual event. What’s not to like? Doing a stunning coastal walk on an island in the sunshine while looking at the work of New Zealand’s top sculptors.
Here are a few highlights.
Veronica Herber – ‘Keep Your Eyes Up’, 2017
This Auckland-based artist is known for her innovative art works constructed from masking tape or Japanese Washi tape. I responded strongly to the delicate and imaginative nature of this work. It repays being viewed from several angles to fully appreciate it.
Tiffany Singh – ‘The Journey of a Million Miles Begins
with One Step: the Stories of Beyond Refuge’, 2016-2017
This very moving and powerful work is the culmination of a partnership between Tiffany Singh and the Auckland Resettled Community Coalition. She has used four abandoned boats from Waiheke Island and repurposed them as sound shells for refugee stories. Materials include emergency blankets, saris, clay and wood. The sound composition is by Steven Hue.
Tiffany Singh – close-up of bottom of boat.
Michael Tuffery – ‘Trailing Tangaroa’, 2016-2017
A giant sculpted shell form ingeniously constructed from new black jandals. Incorporating this ubiquitous and iconic Kiwi component adds a unique quality to a piece that is a hyper-sized replication of a midden shell he found on Waiheke Island. This Wellington-based artist draws strongly on his Polynesian heritage in his work.