B.
Making Way for Art
Behind the scenes
Last Saturday, a dedicated crew of ten from the Student Volunteer Army in association with Gap Filler came out to improve the view of Wayne Youle's Sydenham mural, I Seem to Have Temporarily Misplaced My Sense of Humour.
If you are a Christchurch local, chances are high that you've already heard of the two organisations and the good work they do in this post-quake city. The Student Volunteer Army has been busy digging up and clearing liquefaction from residential properties while Gap Filler has been leading numerous collaborative projects that are popping up on vacant sites around the city.
This time, the students were charged with the task of tackling the urban lush that had flourished since the mural was completed in December last year, which was starting to partly obstruct its view.
Student Volunteer Army working away in front of I Seem to Have Temporarily Misplaced My Sense of Humour by Wayne Youle, a collaboration between the Gallery and Gap Filler.
Arriving at 10 a.m., the team in green armed with shovels and wheelbarrows got straight to work doing equal parts pulling and digging. A focused and friendly bunch, their only moments away from their task at hand were to observe a healthy silverbeet growing amongst other equally robust but non-edible plants and witnessing several mice running about. After five hours of solid team effort and two trailer loads of compacted shrubbery, beauty was restored to the site!
Found: silverbeet growing in front of the mural.
Well done! The team and the 'After' shot.
A big thank you to the Student Volunteer Army and Coralie and Trent from Gap Filler.
Related
Exhibition
I seem to have temporarily misplaced my sense of humour
November 2011 – December 2015
Stretching across a vast wall at the gateway to Sydenham, Wayne Youle's new public artwork is a shadowboard, where tools for rebuilding hang alongside many familiar but precious objects.