Art That Won’t Happen Twice

Whanganui, NZ | A west coast tidal pool, a reconstructed bedroom and live improvisation are among the highlights at UTOPIA Studio + Gallery in central Whanganui this month. March includes two exhibitions, a one-off experimental performance, a public artist talk and workshop, and late-night Friday viewings. Each invites audiences to reflect on the magic of everyday life and the bigger picture hidden within it.

Running until March 28, Gold in a Blue Universe by Manawatū photographer David Lupton features images of shallow tidal pools on a small stretch of North Island west coast beach. Rich natural colours stain the water, creating surfaces that appear almost cosmic despite their tiny scale. The fragile site has since been damaged, a reminder of how temporary beauty can be. Lupton will give a free artist talk in the gallery at 1pm on Saturday, March 21, followed by an Introduction to Colour Photography workshop from 2pm to 5pm. The workshop costs $30 and bookings are required.

Sharing the gallery is Kiss the Dead Goodnight, the first installation by Whanganui writer and photographer Abby Stewart. Stewart recreates her bedroom inside the space, combining photographs, text and furniture in a reflection on mortality, memory and the strange mix of humour and sadness that comes with being human. The work invites visitors to consider impermanence not as something bleak, but as what makes each day feel significant.

As part of the installation, a short video work, Red Shoes by Whanganui artist Sarah Bartley, is projected onto curtains in the gallery. Visitors can experience the work during Friday night late openings throughout March, with the gallery open between 7pm and 9pm.

Abby Stewart will also perform at the gallery on Thursday, March 12 at 8pm as part of experimental group The Norns, alongside Helen O’Rourke, Su Keates and Rani Stigsdottir. The quartet create improvised soundscapes using instruments they do not formally play. Each performance is spontaneous and will not be repeated.

UTOPIA’s Angela Tier is also offering an End of Financial Year Sale, Rats Rats Rats. The handmade ceramic rat sculptures were first shown at the gallery’s opening exhibition in 2024 and are now available for $100 each until the end of March.

UTOPIA Studio + Gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday. More information about events and bookings is available by contacting the gallery directly.

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