Hutt River to flow in Denmark

August 28th 2018

After being first presented at the Hutt City Common Ground festival in 2017, a drone film of the Hutt River will feature in Århus, Denmark this week at an international academic conference.

Artist Murray Hewitt’s film and community project The Rising Gale featuring the Hutt river and underlying aquifer, will be discussed as an example of drone filming and community engagement. The Rising Gale was originally commissioned by Letting Space on behalf of the Hutt City Council for the Common Ground: Groundwater Festival in February 2017.

Co-curator of Common Ground Sophie Jerram from Wellington, will be presenting alongside Copenhagen University Associate Professor Rikke Munck Petersen at a conference dedicated to perception titled Affects, Interfaces, Events.

At Århus University, Denmark’s second largest city, a new edit of The Rising Gale and its screening at the Gear Island water treatment station in March 2017, will be shown.

“This is a significant work by Murray Hewitt working with a new (drone) perspective and recognises the adaptation and journey of the Hutt River,” says Jerram. “It’s an intriguing project that involves community as well as technology and for this reason is featured by the conference.

See: Aarhus University conference: http://aie.au.dk/aie-2018/

BIO of Murray Hewitt
Until earlier in 2018, Murray Hewitt lived just beyond the floodbank in Moera on the lower stretch of the Hutt River and worked at the Dowse Art Museum as a technician. He is known principally for his video work and has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand and as part of group exhibitions internationally. He currently works as a technician for the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth.

Working mostly in video, his works have contemplated consumer behaviour, remembered historic events, or mulled over current political ones through the considered actions of a lone costumed figure, or repetitive stationary camera shots that encourage sustained deliberation from the viewer. Born in Hastings, he has has a Masters degree in Fine Arts from Massey, a NZ Certificate in Civil Engineering and worked for many years as a youth worker.

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