Life-size Brick Caravan Parks up Outside Waikato Museum

Posted On: Monday, 1 December 2008

A life-size caravan made entirely from Huntly Brick will be installed outside the Waikato Museum this Thursday [4 December].

'Holidays in Huntly' is an eye-catching art piece created by renowned ceramic artist Peter Lange. The current Director of the Auckland Studio Potters' Teaching Centre, Lange has several permanent exhibitions at notable venues including The Beehive, Auckland Museum, Auckland Botanical Gardens, Christchurch Art Gallery, China's Suzhou School of Art, Dubai Arts Centre and Gulgong Art Gallery, as well as pieces in various private collections.

Like much of his recent work, Lange said Holidays in Huntly draws on fond memories from his past.

"Holidays in Huntly is an extension of a body of work that I have undertaken over the last couple of years that has referred to parts of my life which I recall with some affection – in this case the year or more that I spent living in a caravan while looking for minerals in New Zealand and Australia in the 60s," he said.

"The shape has the curving lines of post-war homemade caravans and there is reference to the stripped-down brick skeletons of abandoned buildings.

"Driving through Huntly is a mixed experience: out of the corner of your eye you catch the iconic cream and brown brickwork which has become a recognisable and nostalgic local building style, but then the road to Hamilton (or Auckland) always seems to take priority. However if time is taken to explore inland and away from the river you'll find some beautiful spots, rural and lakeside, which might have been holiday destinations for families of the 50s."

The brick caravan, which is 4.2m long, 1.82m wide and 2.6m high, will arrive at Waikato Museum from Auckland late morning on Thursday and will take several hours to mount in position. Part of the Waiclay National Ceramics Award 08 exhibition, the art piece will add an extra dimension to the area outside the Museum and aims to educate the public about different kinds of ceramic work.

The Waiclay National Ceramics Award 08 exhibition runs at the Waikato Museum from 13 December to 15 March 2009, and features a range of add-on programmes and activities aimed to promote excellence in clay work and showcase New Zealand's finest ceramic artists and their work.

ENDS

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