Waiting to ambush visitors this week at the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is a
particularly viscious-looking g-string; a device that photographs then
prints out images of unsuspecting members of the public, and many other
surprising items.
The works have been created by 18 Wellington designers from the fields of
fashion, architecture, interior, graphic, web, industrial, theatre, lighting
and sound design, based on the theme of surprise.
The exhibition follows a show of the same name held in December 2000, which
saw 24 Wellington visual artists working to the surprise theme. This year,
both individuals and well-known local companies, such as Starfish, are
involved. Newcomers such as Matt Barnes and Steve Le Marquand, who have
recently started the boygirlboy web design company, exhibit alongside
established designers such as Andrew Thomas (theatre design) and Tim Nees
(architecture).
The brief meant the designers had to adapt and creatively stretch their
design practices to fit the gallery context, says curator Rebecca Wilson.
This years exhibition is distinctly fun and quirky, says Wilson, and
features a number of interactive works including Origin Designs large scale
plastic Surprise-a-rama, which can be rotated to reveal a range of
surprising images.
Surprise is an annual group exhibition celebrating the breadth and diversity
of Wellington art and design today.
Featured designers: Architecture Workshop; boygirlboy; Peter Edge; Clayton
McGregor; Justin McGregor; Aaron McKirdy; Sebastian Morgan-Lynch; Trace
Murdoch; New Work Studio; Origin Design; Neil Pardington; Martyn Roberts;
Duncan Sargent; Starfish; Suzanne Tamaki; Andrew Thomas; Matt Trott; Phil
Walters and Lee Watt.
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