The first Dalton Trust funded residency was awarded to Regan Gentry. Regan came to Wharepuke iJuly/August 2017 to make ‘The Fall of Water’
The Fall of Water
The space between this spectacular pair of Sequoia specimens has borne witness to a period of epic anthropogenic change. In the last 150 years the planet has become affected by human activity that appears to see itself as above and beyond nature.
Waterways in our ‘clean, green land’ are now labelled toxic and unfit for recreation. What? For what? A blip in GDP?
What sensible society runs a system that diminishes the life force of the thing that keeps it alive?
Look around you. Enjoy it while it lasts.
The Fall of Water aspires to raise concerns about the troubled states of our national waterways.
The program
The Dalton Trust inaugural Wharepuke residency. Congratulations on making the dream of years spark into life.
The initial proposal response outlined my process of needing to visit a site before a concept will truly blossom. An invitation was extended, and a visit made; I was joined by Ros (partner), Arlo (our infant) and Beep (our dog). The hosts (including canine) were very accommodating with a roof, food and abundant, delicious vinous refreshments.
The park’s botanical curiousities had been picked over by a number of preceding artists. A strategy to simply nod to the botanics but not directly allude to them was quickly established in my mind. Possible sites and material queries were followed up. A mothballed family yacht was offered up, and although the hulk was not taken up, the rigging was put back to work on the final art piece.
During my initial visit, I caught up with an old friend Justin Blakie who is now an elected member on the council. Our discussions opened the door to the local concerns about the state of the waterways and harbours.
Lastly a wee tourist tiki tour was made and the Rainbow Falls mesmerized me. The concept blossomed. A decent scale could be achieved, the budget would cope and our mortgage could be managed…., and it would be challenging.
Rain wasn’t a challenge I’d planned for. We had around 250 mm while I played out the residency, that’s about 10 mm per day. We made sure mud was produced on a comparatively epic scale to the work. Moving rocks was a good start then the cherry picker install day sealed all aspirations to make mud on a huge scale. Thanks Chris.
The program allowed a freedom to dream, play with ideas, and create and install it with little fuss. The location was family friendly, including coping well with complicated canine conundrums. I’ll be recommending it.
