B.
Chapman’s Homer at Placemakers Riccarton
Behind the scenes
Following three months outside City Council's building on Worcester Boulevard – Christchurch's favourite bull can now be found at Placemakers Riccarton! That may sound a bit unusual, but these are strange times.
It's only a year since we achieved the ground-breaking target of $200,000 (subsequently matched by Westpac and the Gallery's Trust) by crowd-funding to buy Chapman's Homer. Helping with the purchase of this much-loved sculpture were several 'Leaders of the Charge' and Council's Public Art Fund. Initially shown in Madras Street and later at the Arts Centre during the Arts Festival, he's since been kept safe and secure (but frustratingly unseen) in his crate.
When we reopen, he'll take pride of place on our forecourt. Until then, we're looking for 'bull-sitters' – we'd like him to be seen in different places around the city. Christchurch City Council hosted him where tourists, council and CERA staff and customers got to see him... and now he's off to be seen by a new crowd – builders!
Michael Parekowhai Chapman's Homer. Bronze, stainless steel. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery, purchased 2013 with the assistance of Christchurch City Council through the Public Art Advisory Group, Christchurch Art Gallery Foundation and Westpac, IAG, Ben and Penny Gough, Chartwell Trust, Ravenscar Trust, Friends of Christchurch Art Gallery, Grant and Sandra Close, Dame Jenny Gibbs, Kevin and Joanna Hickman, Stewart and Nati Kaa, Tony Kerridge, McFadden family, Andrew and Jenny Smith, Chapman Tripp, Colliers, Meadow Mushrooms, MWH Ltd, Pace Project Management, The Press; and with additional thanks for contributions from 1,074 other big-hearted individuals and companies.
Finding bull-sitters, however, is quite not as easy as it sounds. There are some key requirements:
- First and foremost, you need to share our passion for art.
- With such a large sculpture, a fair bit of space is needed.
- The bull needs to be secure so he's insurabull (I know, it's corny, but just so easy to slip back into the 'bull talk' which dominated our lives during the fundraising campaign).
Grant and Sandra Close, owners of PlaceMakers Riccarton, were among our Leaders of the Charge during the initial fundraising. They've also enthusiastically signed up for our Foundation's new endowment fund. Grant was dead keen to share the bull with his staff and customers. Like us, he believes that good art really matters in Christchurch. He also reckons his customers are creative in how they are helping to craft this new city.
Sounds good to me – and I'm really looking forward to speaking to 200-300 other creative people about the bull at the Pacemakers 'tradies breakfast' this Friday. Almost as much as I'm looking forward to seeing Chapman's Homer on the refurbished Gallery forecourt late next year! In the meantime, it's fantastic that he's visible (or visibull?) again.
Related
Exhibition
Michael Parekowhai: Chapman's Homer on New Regent Street
29 April – 22 June 2015
Christchurch's favourite bull can now be found on New Regent Street.
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)