Inez Crawford: Bouncy Marae

This exhibition is now closed

When Inez Crawford was a child, she imagined her local marae and meeting house at Te Kaha on the east coast of the North Island was a castle, the kind of grand and glamorous place usually heard of only in fairytales.

In this new artwork, she turns her memory into reality. Collaborating with expert balloon-makers, Crawford has created a wharenui in the style of the bouncy castles often seen at fairs and big birthday parties. Brown on the outside and sugary pink on the inside, this is a sculpture you're welcome to jump around in.

Meeting houses and art galleries have a lot in common: they're places where people get together to share ideas, and they're places that house memories. Unlike our own homes, however, galleries often seem very silent and serious. By putting her Bouncy Castle in the foyer, Crawford brings some of the noise and energy of the home back into the art gallery.

Make yourself at home.

 

  • Date:
    31 May – 27 July 2008
  • Exhibition number:
    797A