Hot house heads huge sculpture show
A biennial sculpture show on Banks Peninsula has transformed a slaughterhouse into a hot house complete with welded plants and birdsong.
Hannah Kidd was awarded the ultimate prize at the Sculpture on the Peninsula show for her work, Hot House.
The artist received $10,000 for the piece, set up in the killing room of the working Louden farm and featuring metal cacti, lilies and carnivorous plants.
Inspired by a hot house in the botanical gardens, the artwork is heated and the recorded noise of birdsong fills the room.
The sculpture is one of more than 100 displayed around the farm, which is open to the public for the event over the weekend.
Event manager Gill Hay said the 900 tickets for the grand opening last night sold out and she expected many more people would visit over the weekend.
‘‘It’s a unique environment, and there’s a really good selection of sculptures with a huge variety of mediums,’’ she said.
It was the 10th time Sculpture on the Peninsula, the largest outdoor show of its kind in the South Island, had been held.
Judge Felicity Milburn said it was an art exhibition like no other, one that featured both emerging and established sculptors from around New Zealand.
Works were made from materials including stone, rusted wire, paper and flax, or harakeke – with many artists drawing inspiration from the setting.
‘‘[They’ve incorporated] references to farming life, the geography of Banks Peninsula, and even the birds that inhabit the garden and farmland,’’ she said.
‘‘One of the great pleasures of coming back to Louden every two years is seeing the practices of returning artists develop as they continue to explore the possibilities of this location.’’
The Lombardy Charitable Trust, which organised the event, donated proceeds from ticket sales to the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre, in Governor’s Bay.
"There's a really good selection of sculptures with a huge variety of mediums."
Gill Hay, event manager