Cafe Interrupt

Cafe Interrupt
Bridge St, Ahuriri

Following the success of the Keirunga gates,
I chose to follow the path of 3D Design,
for the last 2 years of my Degree study.  


I chose an existing Cafe in Bridge St to re-design.


We were required to investigate the theme of Deconstruction, 
along with the impact of the Napier Earthquake, 1931.

I was fascinated and awed by the of the power of nature,
the incredible change in the water levels as the Ahuriri Estuary rose approx 6ft,
And what was previously an extensive harbour,
became the small estuary it is today.


The 3D drawing below draws on 
the images of the earthquake damage around the Ahuriri Wharves,
the pre-earthquake maps of the harbour, 
and the 6Ft change of water levels.

3D Development Drawing, Cafe Interrupt (2009)

Inspired by the work of Enric Miralles, 

as part of my design process, I also used 2D Collages to

investigate and explore the balance of the space,

and began to develop these ideas
to work with the space of the Cafe.

Design Process, Cafe Interrupt (2009)

            

Final Renders of Cafe Interrupt
Vectorworks (2009)

Final Model, Cafe Interrupt (2009)

... the big things in life

we should not forget
we should not take for granted ...

culture
respect and identity 

 Tshirt Design (2008)

Screen Print

Does your left foot try and change your right foot?

They are very similar, yet they are also opposite.

If the left foot forced the right foot to be left, 

would they work together?

If we respect our differences

we can walk forward

in a straight line

instead of 

round in 

circles.

...its a question of balance...

home
landscape
history
identity

inherent knowledge

 

 

                  Home (2008)

                  Oil on Canvas 520x710

A study into Don Binney's landscape and bird paintings, resulted in my own painting which by appropriating his style, is an attempt to join his conversation about landscape and identity.

At this stage I had been living in the Hawkes Bay for about 5 years.  The landscape here is dry and bare, a stark contrast to the green, lush Eastern Bay of Plenty from where I come.

Will the Hawkes Bay ever be my home?

On a tractor trip out to the Cape Kidnappers, I  reacted to the raw beauty of this landscape, and the birds relationship with it.  The gannets are born with the knowledge that this is home.  After migrating to Australia for their 'teenage' years, they return to the Cape, to settle down and raise a family.

Kind of like some people...

... home is where the heart is...

terror

error

                   T Error (2008)

                   Layered screen prints, tissue paper, indian ink 460x460

On a more serious note, our print brief required some exploration of ideas of dissent. 


I had kept this newspaper clipping from October 2007, about the ALLEGED Tuhoe terrorism.


It seemed to me that the only people who looked truly terrifying in this article, were the armed defenders squad. They were kitted out in full riot gear, and wielding some pretty hefty artillery.  


Was there an Error?
Was there some Terror?
Perhaps they couldn't see 

the wood

for the trees...

The faces of the 'accused', faces of innocent Tuhoe people, kaumatua and tamariki, blended into their land and  their trees by layers and layers of generations.

I can only imagine how this day impacted on the children and the elders of Ruatoki and Taneatua.


A movie has been made about this day, and will be part of the NZ Film Festival, showing at many places around New Zealand in July this year.

Here are some shorts from Utube, and a link showing where and when screenings are:

Operation 8 : Film Festival 2011

... respect ...

when is a box

not a box?

     Imagination (2008)

     MDF, 500x500

When the box can be anything you want....

Not long before I designed this play box, we had purchased a new TV which arrived, of course, in a very big box.  While we were busy trying to set the TV up, our children, aged 12 and 9, started playing in the box!  I was surprised at how easily they forgot that they were big kids now.

When they were much younger, I remember how they loved to play in boxes, often preferring the actual box to the present that was inside it.  

A box could be anything they wanted... an aeroplane, a truck, a hut...

This box explores the notion of the cardboard box, it's simplicity, and it's complexity. Basically a cube, the designs cut from the 2 triangular walls, are patterns that I have often doodled.  They are deliberately unspecific, to invite the imagination to decide what they are.  The shadows create still more versions of the patterns. 

The box is a scale model. The full size box would be big enough for children to climb in and out of.  Many boxes could be arranged together in different positions, to encourage the children to imagine the different spaces the box could be.

Interestingly enough, some 'big kids' below couldn't wait to play with the box even at this size!  The blackboard paint beckoned them to add their own mark.

          

... imagination, simplicity, complexity...

shelter

water

food
ancient
modern

Shelter, water, food (2008)

Raku Clay 46x18x6cm

The three things we need to exist.  The fundamentals of life.

In this project we were to look into an ancient culture, and from this develop a set of three sculptures relating to shelter,water and food.  The three sculptures were required to interlock in some way.

Looking into ancient Aztec art and patterns, I was fascinated by the geometric representations of nature.  The geometric designs were creatively connected, making  more designs on a larger scale, and inscribed into the stonework from which their shelters were constructed.  The Aztecs developed their own version of the koru, or spiral, which was stylised into a square formation.  


Cut and carved into my roof, water vessel and cooking platform, are patterns derived from a much more modern symbol of existence.

... essential ...

colours of cezzanne

Neil (2007)

Acrylic

On the inside (2007)

Acrylic

These paintings are a study of Cezzanne's style and colours.  We can learn from the masters of the past, and explore ways of taking their ideas in new directions.

... lessons from the past...