B.
After midnight...
Behind the scenes
'We're gonna give an exhibition.
We're gonna find out what it is all about.'
JJ Cale got it about right.
Then spin on your heels and look up at the Gallery opposite. Jae Hoon Lee's Annapurna is a wintery view with a difference.
Walk on down the Boulevard taking in the rest of Reconstruction, then hang a left, and wander down Durham past the freshly reopened stretch where the Park Royal stood, before turning down Peterborough Street. This is the final stop on our tour, and it's the new Central Library Peterborough.
Glowing out of the shop window is a constantly changing view into the (admittedly recent) past. Doc has been photographing Christchurch since the late 1990s - his images taken as a means of getting to know a city he was new to, and largely without display in mind. Seen now however, with so much of the city just a memory, his photographs can make for pretty raw viewing.
On up Colombo Street, neatly circumnavigating the red zone, and we arrive on Worcester Boulevard, which is lit up with a series of 56 illuminated panels. These are the Reconstruction: Conversations on a City exhibition, and they trace Christchurch's history as told through the collections of, amongst others, ourselves, the Libraries and Canterbury Museum. Start at the Montreal Street end, and wander the length of the show at your own pace.
Although as the sun currently sets about half five, we can get this exhibition started earlier. Our Outer Spaces project currently contains four presentations that are best seen, or even only seen, after dark, so why not make the most of the long dark winter evenings to see some art. Let's take a tour.
We'll start in Sydenham, 464 Colombo Street to be precise, with Phantom City.
Up above the entrance is 22 metres of digital goodness from Richard Killeen. Killeen once described himself as a 'miner' of libraries, extracting a images and shapes to condense and manipulate with his distinctive 'cut-out' technique, so it's a fantastically apposite spot for his work to be seen.
Just before you reach the Council's building (Castle Greyskull) on your right is a good point to take a wee break. Look up to your right and there's Ronnie van Hout looking back at you. The projection in the window is The creation of the world, and it's oddly mesmerising viewing. Actually, it's my favourite thing we've got on display at the moment. However, come Tuesday Ronnie will be replaced by an exuberant video work by Australian artist Justene Williams.