5 December 2005
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery Presents Emerging Wellington Artists
10 December 2005 – 29 January 2006
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery @ City Gallery Wellington
Free entry, open 10am to 5pm everyday (closed Christmas Day)
Every summer, the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery presents a group exhibition featuring new and exciting work by emerging
Wellington artists.
This year curator Emma Bugden has brought together a group of artists connected by their interest in the realm of the
social: the relationships between people, and the negotiations these relationships often require.
Emma Bugden says: “‘How To Be A Friend’ doesn’t offer a quick fix or manual for community living. Instead, these artists
are actively exploring the complexity of living alongside others, and the intricate networks that connect us as
individuals to the wider world.”
Works in the show include Tim Armstrong’s investigation of Father Christmas’s origins in Saturn, the ancient god of
fertility and harvest; a collaborative project by Elizabeth Allan and her grandmother Dorothy Irvine, who worked
together to remove a barbed wire barricade that had separated Irvine’s house from neighbouring Housing New Zealand
flats; and Sandy Gibbs’s video work ‘Gloria’, drawn from a series of works in which Gibbs advertised in the ‘Dominion
Post’ for women who would talk about their relationships on film.
A special feature of the exhibition will be two live performances by Sarah Stevens in December. Stevens will take over
the front entrance to City Gallery Wellington, inviting members of the public to learn how to make candyfloss on a
portable machine. In perfect agreement with the social theme of ‘How To Be A Friend’, Stevens says “I like the idea of
giving something – not something grand, just a small gesture”. Keep an eye on our website www.citygallery.org.nz for the
performance dates and times.
‘How To Be A Friend’ features work by:
Elizabeth Allan & Dorothy Irvine
Jemma Woolmore
Tim Armstrong
Sandy Gibbs
Caroline Johnston
Rebecca Pilcher
Kyly Ashman, Mike Marsh & Chantelle Waring
Sarah Stevens
ENDS