B.
Les taureaux en hiver
Behind the scenes
On Valentine's Day in Paris, He Korero Purakau mo te Awanui o Te Motu Story of a New Zealand River, the third of Michael Parekowhai's pianos from the Venice Biennale, was unveiled to the public.
He Korero Purakau mo te Awanui o Te Motu Story of a New Zealand River. Image courtesy Ian Radford.
This work, along with the two others that make up Michael's On First Looking into Chapman's Homer exhibition, are on display at Musée du quai Branly until Sunday 1 April. Then they'll be packed away for delivery to Christchurch, where we'll show them later this year.
A Peak in Darien. Image courtesy Ian Radford.
Outside in the garden of the Musée du quai Branly, A Peak in Darien and Chapman's Homer are looking chilled with a dusting of snow.
It's brass monkeys in Paris for Michael Parekowhai's bronze bulls.
Chapman's Homer. Image courtesy Ian Radford.
Related
Exhibition
Michael Parekowhai: On First Looking into Chapman's Homer
30 June – 29 July 2012
Michael Parekowhai's spectacular Venice Biennale installation returns home for its first post-Biennale showing in New Zealand.
Collection
Michael Parekowhai Chapman's Homer
When 'Chapman’s Homer' was exhibited at the edge of the devastated central city in 2012, it was positioned between ruin and rebuild just outside the cordon in an empty lot on Madras Street. Our bull stood beside his seated brother while a red carved Steinway piano was played upstairs in an adjacent building. Over thirty days, Parekowhai’s work caught the public imagination as a symbol of the resilience of local people. At once strong and refined, a brutal force of nature and a dynamic work of culture, Chapman’s Homer resonated with local audiences. Subsequently, a public fundraising campaign kept the bull in Christchurch.
Chapman’s Homer was first exhibited in Venice, where Parekowhai represented New Zealand at the 2011 Venice Biennale. It travelled to Christchurch after being shown at the Musée de quai Branly in Paris. Over the past year, we’ve shown it at a number of sites around the city as part of the Gallery's Outer Spaces programme, including Worcester Boulevard, Placemakers Riccarton, New Regent Street, and most recently at Christchurch International Airport. And now the bull is back – standing strong in its permanent home at Te Puna o Waiwhetū Christchurch Art Gallery, welcoming visitors to our reopening exhibitions.
(December 2015)