If you go into central Christchurch you might discover a giant melted pen hovering on the side of a building, a red rope twined around a concrete facade and exotic flowers suspended in a hothouse. The SCAPE Public Art Festival is live across the city and we were delighted to offer in-kind sponsorship to provide electrical services and installation for an artwork ‘Destination’, positioned on the front lawn of the Christchurch Art Gallery.
The SCAPE Destination Installation
Below are photos of the Aotea Electric team installing ‘Destination’ by Beijing-based artist Nabuqi. The artwork was first exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2018 and features a billboard of a tropical beach with artificial palm trees bursting from the canvas.
Elliot and Andy get stuck into the electrical work for the install
Some in-house training from Andy
Elliot in programming mode
Logo Controller kindly donated by JA Russell-Radcliffe Electrical
Elliot completing the electrical work, supervised by Steve (in the background)
Nabuqi plays with the optics and spectrum of observation, the programming that we accept and also question. Through addressing the familiar – nature, domesticity – the viewer is more deeply engaged in considering ‘presence’, how one perceives what is in front of them at present, what it was before and will be in the future.
Nabuqi graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2013, and currently lives and works in Beijing.
The artworks in the festival form a trail through the city that threads around the Christchurch Arts Centre and the Botanic Gardens and runs until 14 January 2022.
SCAPE executive director Deborah McCormick said the festival could still run even if we have to operate under tighter covid restrictions, “We want people to get out and enjoy the city in the summer.”
The pandemic had created challenges for the festival though. Supply chain issues meant many of the artworks were fabricated in Christchurch, while border controls and regional lockdowns meant some artists had to remotely oversee the installation of their sculptures.
“Last year reinforced the arts and creativity as a major driver for a greater sense of wellbeing and connectedness throughout the country. New Zealanders need access to arts and culture more than ever. Despite all the challenges we learned so much from our recent experiences and found many new ways and mediums through which we connect.”
– SCAPE Public Art Board Chair, Michael Fulton
Feature banner image credit:
Destination, 2018. Installation view at “After Nature: UCCA Dune Opening Exhibition”, UCCA DUNE, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China (2018), Image courtesy the Artist.