Tag: Showtime

SHOWTIME! Reclaimed by Distranged Design

Jacob Root, a.k.a Distranged Design has a way of getting on with things – whether it is flying across the world to immerse himself in the creative scene in Los Angeles, or staging exhibitions of his work here in Ōtautahi Christchurch, he tends to find ways to make things happen. For his latest solo show, Reclaimed, he set about making a body of work that both explored new ways of making (from paint application to the use of up-cycled materials), and found a space through a mural contact – eventually coming to life in a weekend pop-up show.

The well-attended opening night, despite the drizzly Friday evening, showed that Distranged Design has built a solid following of fans eager to see his latest work. The showroom setting afforded a spacious and uncluttered layout for his large works, many painted on recycled palettes and found objects. The styles employed also highlighted a changing approach, clearly influenced by the artist’s increasingly large mural works. The stencil background is still apparent, including the Snik-inspired Moire-styled technique, but a new painterly approach, deploying more freely constructed layers, is arising, an approach the artist admits is, in part, to give relief from the work-heavy cutting process.

Despite his youth, Distranged Design has been a presence in Ōtautahi’s scene for several years, and Reclaimed shows an artist beginning to explore new paths…

Follow Distranged Design on Instagram to keep up to date…

Photos supplied by Watch This Space and Distranged Design

If you have a show or exhibition coming up – please let us know – we love to support local!

Showtime – STOKED 2024 at The Duke Festival of Surfing

The Duke Festival of Surfing has become a much-loved event in New Brighton. Amongst the celebration of surfing, the STOKED art exhibition is an anticipated part of the wider festival – showcasing an array of local talent, and creations that range from surf and skate-inspired, to abstractions and beyond. Over the years, a number of Watch This Space favourites have been included in the exhibition and the 2024 iteration continued that trend. Staged in the picturesque Carnaby Lane, STOKED 2024 presented a variety of styles and approaches and we captured some of our favourites…

Dove – Locals Only 2
Nick Lowry – Between The Flags
Dark Ballad – Various
teethlikescrewdrivers – Finds a Way (top) and Us Kids (bottom)
teethlikescrewdrivers – More Action (top), Parallels (middle) and Better (bottom)
teethlikescrewdrivers – Broken Negative
Lydia Hannah Thomas – Surf Wax
Lydia Hannah Thomas – Sun Screen
Lydia Hannah Thomas – After Sun

If you have a show coming up – let us know! Email hello@watchthisspace.org.nz and tell us about it!

Showtime! Liminal Beings @ TyanHAUS, Friday 18 February 2023

Friday, 18th February saw the opening of the collaborative exhibition Liminal Beings – a collection of work by Jonny Waters, Dark Ballad (Joe Clark) and teethlikescrewdrivers at TyanHAUS. While the mix may not seem like an obvious one, the infusion of pop and urban culture – from Dark Ballad’s skateboard decks referencing iconic cinema (the carpet of the Overlook Hotel a particular favourite), to Waters’ remixed album cover paintings and, of course, teethlikescrewdrivers’ treasure trove of repurposed objects, from old maps to place mats, cricket bats and more, provided a sense of chaotic unity. The placement of each artists’ work interspersed rather than delineated into separate sections added to the overall effect. With aspects of typography, punky, gestural expressionism, and clean, graphic design work, Liminal Beings had something for everyone. We headed along to check it out…

Nothing like a doodle board when you are inspired…
Rather than each artist having a defined space, all three artists’ works were intermingled through the space…
teethlikescrewdrivers, 2023
teethlikescrewdrivers, The Kaikouras, 2023
Jonny Waters, Electric Warrior, 2023
Jonny Waters, London Calling, 2023
Dark Ballad, The Terminator, 2023
Dark Ballad, The Shining, 2023

If you have a show coming up, please let us know – email hello@watchthisspace.org.nz or contact us on social media @watchthisspacechch and we can share your creative goodness!

Showtime!

Vacation from Reality – Pener, Fiksate Gallery, 15th July, 2022

Polish artist Pener’s mid-Winter residency at Fiksate culminated with a stunning show at the Sydenham Gallery. Despite the cold and wet weather, Vacation from Reality was irresistable, with the artist’s striking abstract paintings spilling subtly onto the walls behind, extending the impact of the bold lines, colours and forms. The combination of bright and muted colours, along with the dynamic compositions wowed the crowd, who were treated to the sublime work of an international visitor with a refined practice…

Do you have a show coming up? Let us know at hello@watchthisspace.org.nz!

Showtime!

Things I Thought You’d Say or Don’t – Josh Bradshaw, Absolution, 3rd June, 2022

Josh Bradshaw’s first solo show in several years (and the first under his real name) gathered a crowd on Friday, June 3rd at Absolution in The Arts Centre. Things I Thought You’d Say or Don’t presented a collection of works that indicate Bradshaw’s new creative direction, explorations of the urban environment that utilise an array of materials and techniques, producing a punk-infused, anarchic and yet poised range of evocative images. A good crowd braved the chilly June weather on the night, buoyed by the art and, of course, the barrel of Double Browns…

A pair of disposable cameras allowed people to document the night…

Josh Bradshaw, right, with fellow artist Harry King from Absolution

There was a busy crowd throughout the night

Our pal, Beartrap drummer Mitch Barnard was all smiles

Only the finest drinks…

Do you have a show coming up? Let us know by emailing hello@watcthisspace.org.nz

Showtime!

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland proved the place to be on April 8th, with two exhibition openings drawing crowds. We happened to be around and managed to catch both The Main Line, a collaboration between Ōtautahi artist Ghostcat and 27 Aotearoa graffiti artists that served as a love letter to the iconic Spacerunner train carriage, and Shiny Things, a collaboration between Hannah Maurice and Tanja McMillan (known to many as Misery) that created a beguiling world inside The Mercury Plaza gallery space on Cross Street (just behind the famed Karangahape Road). While very different shows, one grounded in history, the other mythology, both were well worth the attention…

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The Main Line – Ghostcat x Aotearoa Graffiti Artists, Limn Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, 8th April, 2022

Inside Ponsonby Road’s Limn Gallery, a two metre long replica of a Spacerunner, one of New Zealand’s, and New Zealand graffiti’s most iconic train carriages, takes centre stage. Carefully laid out on top and along the walls either side are even smaller versions of the carriages, rusted and covered in tiny recreations of the graffiti that would fly by when the Spacerunners were still in circulation around Aotearoa. The tiny carriages were built by Ghostcat in his typically detailed style, before artists spanning the country and generations, contributed designs, from Opto, Vents, Lurq, Morpork and Phat 1 to Wayst, Togo, Meep, Vesil and Siar267…

Shiny Things – Hannah Maurice and Tanja McMillan, The Mercury Plaza, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, 8th April, 2022

The Mercury Plaza, home to a collective of creatives, where visitors can find food, art, clothing and, if they fancy it, get a tattoo. On April 8th, The Mercury Plaza welcomed guests to the opening of Shiny Things, a collaborative world building by Hannah Maurice and Tanja McMillan (Misery); an exploration of the sacred female and the conscious/unconscious that employs a range of approaches to engage the senses. From McMillan’s paintings to installations that seemingly serve as shrines, an air of ceremony palpable. Opening night was busy, with a moving karakia adding to the resonance of the works that reveled in dance, ritual, myth and dreams…

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Do you have a show coming up and want to let us know? Email hello@watchthisspace.org.nz and fill us in with the details!

Showtime!

Friday the 4th of March was a busy night, with two events marking the opening of significant urban art events in Ōtautahi, signalling an exploding energy in the local scene. First up was the opening event for the Flare Street Art Festival, held at the pop-up exhibition space on High Street, which is host for all the information you will need about the festival and a collection of work by Flare artists and a number of local stars. Across town at TyanHAUS, Slap City’s International Paste-Up and Sticker Festival was also celebrating it’s opening night, with the interior exhibition of work from across the globe completely taking over the space. We were lucky enough to make it along to both events, with a palpable sense of excitement permeating both spaces…

With both events taking place in the red traffic light setting, it was great to see the organisers ensuring people were masked up (except for a quick photo here and there!) and that group sizes were kept appropriate!

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Flare Street Art Festival opening event @ Flare Central, Friday, 4th March, 2022

Beginning with a opening address by Mayor Liane Dalziel, the Flare Festival launched on Friday (although artists had been at work on their walls since Wednesday the 2nd) at the Flare Central pop-up. The exhibited works ranged from Flare headline artists to a roster of local talent such as Chile One, Nick Lowry, Jacob Yikes, Ghostcat, Jen Heads and more. A relaxed vibe highlighted the feeling that such festivals bring, with new friendships and old connections re-established. Check out flare.nz for the festival’s full programme

Slap City presents The International Paste-Up and Sticker Festival @ TyanHAUS, Friday, 4th March, 2022

The Slap City collective have been an unmissable presence in the local scene over the last two years, their widespread community ensuring Ōtautahi has a thriving and diverse array of art in the streets. The International Paste-Up and Sticker Festival harnesses that diversity and community into an impressive exhibition and programme. Completely taking over the TyanHAUS space, the challenge proved to be where to start! Diving into the cacophonous selection of paste-ups, examing the sticker bombs or considering the Hello We Are exhibition, there was no shortage of attention grabbing activity! Follow the event on Facebook for more of the festival’s programme…

 

 

 

Showtime!

This is the year that was – An exhibition of 2021 A.D. by PIM @ The Art Hole, Tuesday, 22nd February, 2022

The current Covid situation made the opening of This is the year that was by local artist PIM (aka Lost Boy) a small affair, so I only got down to the Art Hole a few days after the opening, but walking into the empty gallery space (a space which has a definite, unassuming charm) it became apparent that taking time and feeling immersed, experiences not always possible at openings, was the best way to explore this charming show.

The concept of the show was the artist’s completion of a drawing every day of 2021 (small postcard sized digital prints, also compiled into an impressive, limited edition hard-cover book), reflecting the interior and exterior world the artist has occupied throughout a tumultuous year. Presented in a large grid, the small works, with vibrant colours (an element often conspicuous from the artist’s chalk street drawings or stickers), unfurled a range of narratives, some playing out over a week or more, others re-occurring throughout the 365 images with call-backs. The protagonist, a proxy for the artist, experiences a full gamut of terror, befuddlement, sadness, joy and banality, often realised through an absurdist sense of humour. After several inspections, I found myself piecing narratives together, partly from my own associations, partly from the clues on display, but ultimately I became very aware that we aren’t so different you and I, we aren’t so different after all.

Do you have a show coming up? Let us know,. we would love to cover it in Showtime! Email hello@watchthisspace.org.nz with the details!

Showtime!

Hard in the Paint – Part of the Christchurch Hip Hop Summit, December 10th, 2021

2021 saw the return of the Christchurch Hip Hop Summit, with a full programme representing the four elements of the culture, from workshops and demonstrations to performances. As the oldest element, graffiti was a vital inclusion, but as the ‘black sheep’ of the hip hop family (to borrow a phrase from an article I read in The Source years ago), it is not as natural a fit as the performative profiles of breaking, DJing and MCing. As the most outwardly anti-social, and manifesting a broader sense of identity, graffiti is an interesting proposition for the Summit, in many ways the best fit for hip hop’s changing scope. For the 2021 event, graffiti was represented by Hard in the Paint, a gathering of graffiti generations creating a traditional production balancing letter forms and characters in the Hereford Street car park (no, not that one). Co-ordinated by the DTR crew’s Ikarus and Dcypher, the line-up was varied and the local scene was well-represented, featuring Ikarus, Dcypher, Smeagol, Drows, Meep, YSEK, Fiasko and Vesil…

The wall gets underway…

Dcypher at work…

Meep takes stock…

Meep, Drows and Smeagol add touches…

YSEK and Fiasko

The finished production (and pesky cars)

If you have a show coming up – let us know by emailing the details to hello@watchthisspace.org.nz…

 

Showtime! Art Walls @ The Welder, Sunday 28th November, 2021

Our first edition of Showtime! featured a host of shows that all opened on the same night – likely a rare occurrence. Another rare occurrence is the Sunday night opening, but with the necessities enforced by the never-ending Covid pandemic, new is kind of the norm. Art Walls is an ongoing and revolving installation concept based at The Welder, rather than an exhibition with a specific opening, the concept, developed by Kyla K, is more organic throughout its run. However, everything has to have a beginning (or at least the beginning of the 3rd iteration) and Sunday afternoon (crowd restrictions meant the timing had to match Welder restaurants being closed) saw the launch of the latest batch of artists to shine, with LKM, Josh Bradshaw, Paige Jackman, Ryan Robertson, Louann Sidon, Ikarus (DTR Crew), Lydia Thomas and Mike Williams (who also served as the opening event DJ!) all featured. We were there and enjoyed catching up with some of the artists and a pohutukawa and strawberry session mead from Buzz Club (who knew?), and here is the proof…

LKM (Lara Kate Marshall) and Jesse Rubenstein in front of LKM’s work

Lydia Thomas and her bloom pieces (with real flowers adding a new twist!)

Josh Bradshaw’s tiny barbed wire roses were picked, but not for you…

 

Ikarus’ grimy miniature graffiti scenes…

Ryan Robertson’s Stew Art, mixed media on canvas

Louann Sidon’s beguiling watercolour and metallic powder works

And, to top it off there were goodest bois as well…

 

If you have a show coming up, let us know! Email hello@watchthisspace.org.nz with the details…