27/06/2007
For immediate release

Petone Storybox set to light up the night’s sky & get your toes tapping!

Take two 20ft shipping containers, one of Wellington’s coolest VJ’s performing live – mixing a collection of historic images with some funky contemporary beats, and a clear night sky on the Petone foreshore, and what do you have? The Petone Storybox!

“We encourage locals & visitors alike to come down and check out this amazing sight, as the night sky is lit up with moving image & sound as part of our inaugural Petone Winter Carnival on Saturday 7 July.” says Duncan Chisholm, Recreation & Events Manager at Hutt City Council.

Visual artist Robert Appierdo from Dnation Creative is breathing new life into the rich history of Petone. This large-scale video installation has been commissioned especially for the Carnival, celebrating stories of migration, settlement and attachment to the land. From early Maori settlement, through to the life and struggles of European settlers in the 1840’s and the rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of the area after WWII, these static images will be mixed and spliced with a soundtrack designed to get your toes tapping on a cold winter night.

Petone Storybox LIVE presents some of Wellington’s top electronica musicians serving up classic beats, soulful electronic soundscapes and delicate melodies interwoven with touches of the dub, ambient, and downbeat grooves to the images radiating from the Storybox.

Two spell-binding live performances are free, and will take place at 6pm and 7:45pm on Saturday 7 July (located between TS Tamatoa Sea Cadets building and Petone Wharf).

The Petone Storybox will be exhibited on Petone Foreshore (between TS Tamatoa Sea Cadets building and Petone Wharf) from Saturday 7 July to Wednesday 11 July and operates from 3pm each day.

The Petone Storybox is part of the Petone Winter Carnival, which takes place along Petone Foreshore on Saturday 7 July.

Highlights of the carnival include:

* Colourful and creative chalk art drawing;
* A chilly dip in the Wellington Harbour as part of the traditional polar plunge;
* Have-a-go Circus skills workshops on the flying trapeze, juggling and unicycles
* Ice sculpting and face painting at the Petone Settlers Museum;
* Stunning aerial circus performances on an outdoor rig from some of New Zealand’s hottest circus artists;
* And the spectacular Pelorus Trust Fireshow fireworks display fired off Petone Wharf at 7:30pm.

For further information on the carnival visit www.huttcity.govt.nz/wintercarnival.

About Robert Appierdo

Robert Appierdo has been working/playing as VJ since 1997. In the late ‘90s he was actively part of the Channel Zero collective that created visual environments for DJ Qbert, Che Fu and DJ Noise. Since then, he has provided visuals for international acts such as Thievery Corporation, DJ Hype and Quantic Soul Orchestra, as well as touring New Zealand and Australia performing live visuals for Rhian Sheehan and Module.

He has also collaborated extensively on projects with local theatre companies, including live visuals for A Clockwork Orange (AK05) directed by Andrew Foster, Perfume (Silo), Lost Property (Claire O'Neill and Francisco Rodriguez/Fidget Co) and Certainty (Kristian Larsen, Stab Season). In 2005 he directed the music video that won Best Cinematography at the Radio Active 89FM Handle the Jandal competition for the Fly My Pretties song "Lucky".

ENDS

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