The Upstream Art Trail is a biennial, crowd-funded, four day temporary public art exhibition that showcases the work of emerging artists and designers, (people who are recent graduates or in the early years of their creative practice), in the beautiful surrounds of Wellington’s Central Park.
Set in one of Wellington’s oldest public parks, Central Park’s 13 hectare grounds extend from the edge of the CBD and Te Aro Valley up to the suburb of Brooklyn, with the Moturoa stream running through its centre. Central Park contains native trees, walking tracks, gardens and picnic areas, as well as a playground with two flying foxes.
In 2015, The Upstream Art Trail attracted over 2000 visitors and won the ‘Best Visual Arts’ award at the NZ Fringe Festival.
This year, artists have created sculptural projects that interpret the broad theme of ‘Structure’. Their work will be positioned throughout the park and alongside Moturoa stream, to be experienced by visitors as they wander ‘upstream’.
Exhibiting artists are: Amy King & Natalie Smith, Anita Springintveld, Anna Gilbert, Birgit Bachler, Brenda Sullivan, Candace Smith, Kate Lepper, Kerry Scott, Maria O’Toole, Oliver Gedye, Phillip Silverman, Poppy Law, Ruby Joy Eade and Shaun Matthews.
Group work by five local primary schools – Berhampore, Brooklyn, Ridgway, St Bernard’s and Te Aro, will also be on display.
TLC Honour’s student Ann O’Rorke put together a promotional video for this years Upstream Art Trail:
Come along and support Wellington’s growing sculpture scene and participating artists, including TLC Diploma graduates, Phillip Silverman, Oliver Gedye and Anita Springintveld.
Phillip Silverman
Phillip Silverman did a residency at the Academy of Art in New York and after working for almost two decades as a bodyworker and exercise professional, developed a strong interest in the structure of the body as it relates to function in living systems or ‘living anatomy’. Whereas contemporary anatomy focuses on morbid cadavers, in contrast Phillip become fascinated by the artistic approach of applying design principles to convey life, and the idea that anatomy can provide a structural narrative of lived experience.
Phillip’s work on show at the Upstream Art Trail, ‘Talk to the walk: a structural narrative on gait’ is about trying to fit the concept of anatomical art – the structure of walking – to the park.
Proficiency in gait or the ability to walk on two legs makes us fairly unique as an animal. This complex skill is often taken for granted while performing activities such as strolling through the park. Phillip’s interactive presentation will explore the story of gait from a structural perspective, using sculpture, comparative anatomy, interactive activities, and some ideas in the history of anatomy.
Ecroche: Working model for 'Talk to the walk'.
©2017 Phillip Silverman
Oliver Gedye
Oliver Gedye is working on a 20-sided shape made from kanuka and copper, and may include interactive elements in the form of copper chimes. “My work relates to fundamental structures and the relationships between geometry, form and frequency.” Oliver has done installation works for festivals in New Zealand and Australia and several of his sculptures are on the Milnthorpe sculpture trail in Golden Bay.
See more of Oliver Gedye’s sculpture work here.
Anita Springintveld
Anita is an emerging artist who draws on nature as part of her practice, with a focus on 3D sculpture and design. She likes to experiment with materiality and scale, often coupling old, new and found materials with messages of context in order to tell a story about how we, as humans, live within society.
Her sculpture will represent the presence of man through a symbolic hut nestled in the crook of nature’s arms. Visually the work will consist of 54 individual posts protruding up into the air creating a hut like structure.
Working drawing for sculpture.
©2017 Anita Springintveld
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