With all the things going on in Wellington right now it is quite easy to miss things. I did, however, manage to pop into the City Art Gallery the other day to see Turner Prize winner Simon Starling’s exhibition, “In Speculum”. Definitely well worth seeing if you like conceptual art, and of course, all free.
City Art Gallery and Civic Square
On Wednesday at lunch time I went to hear/see/experience a – well, I am not sure actually. The programme described “The Quiet Volume” as a “live literary experience for two”, which is as good a description as it gets. It took place in the National Library of New Zealand.
We (me and the other participant) were seated in front of three books, a notebook each, and a common, shared book of photographs. Each of us had a set of headphones and a set of instructions on an mp3 payer. These involved reading certain passages in the books and the notebook and sometimes interacting with the other person. It was really fascinating and the description of it being an “interplay of silence and intense concentration, within which our experience of reading unfolds” was so true. It was quite fascinating and well worth going to. The piece was created by Ant Hampton and Tim Etchells.
Still on books, my nephew’s second novel was recently published, and my copy finally arrived today.
The Dismal Science by Peter Mountford
It is the story of a vice president of the World Bank who resigns and then is forced to rebuild his identity. Naturally, I think you should all rush out and buy it!
Thistles and Kiwis 