The most amazing art exhibit I’ve ever seen!

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Our second day in Christchurch was full of exciting things! We met up with our fellow camp friend, Sarge, again (she lives just an hour south of Christchurch) and her 3 year old niece. Sarge had been dying to go see the Ron Mueck art exhibit that was in the city and Fern and I easily got on board with the idea.

Bucky, our Australian camp friend, called us on the way to the museum and we had an over the phone mini camp reunion! Bucky and I tried to find a way to meet up too but even here in New Zealand, Australia is pretty darn far away. Talking to her was wonderful though! Just hearing her voice again was great! I told her about the moose sighting we had at camp this summer and how I fallowed it in a kayak! Bucky had been the head crusader on all the middle-of-the-night, impromptu moose hunts for the five years she worked at camp, and never actually saw one. So this was really big news!

Back to the art museum…

Ron Mueck is a contemporary sculptor and is famous for his hyper-realistic, often larger than life pieces. The people he sculpts portray an array of very vulnerable facets of the human condition and are often naked, old, very young, or hurting in some way. The exhibition only included about 12 of Mueck’s works but seeing just one of them would’ve been enough to send your mind spinning. This was defiantly the most impacting and incredible exhibit I’ve ever seen! The details were astonishing and each sculpture was so poignant that you almost felt like you were inside their most defenseless and private moments. What was also fascinating and extraordinarily telling to watch were the expressions on people’s faces as they examined each piece. When a mother gazed up at the sculpture of the exhausted pregnant woman whose closed eyes pressed the tears from her eyelids, you knew she’d felt just that way too once. It was an awe-inspiring tribute to motherhood and that sculpture became all of our favorites. Even our three year old cohort was captivated by it all. The only thing that could have made the exhibit better would have been if the pieces had an artist’s statement posted next to them. But I suppose that would take away from individual interpretation. I would have loved to buy a book on Ron Mueck at the gift shop too but considering the king’s ransom they were asking for it, I’ll be happy to just look him up on the internet. I highly recommend looking this guy up too if you haven’t heard of him or seen his works already. He’s absolutely amazing!

After the art exhibit we went back to a craft fair we’d seen earlier that morning. The most colorful and elaborate felted wool wall-hangings I’ve ever seen waved in the wind and the block was full of artists and jewelers displaying their crafts. It was the first warm afternoon we’d had in a few days so for dinner Sarge took us to a fish n’ chip shop right on the beach. Aside from the usual deep fried fish and various fried potato products, Sarge and Fern insisted I try a deep fried Mars bar. I’ve been avoiding doing exactly this on principle for years now but I guess traveling through New Zealand you have to get a little crazy every now and then. (Well, that’s how I’m justifying the could-probably-make-your-heart-stop-instantly dissert we shared.) It was amazing though! How did I go this long without trying one?!

We ran along the beach after we’d eaten all but the greasy paper everything was wrapped in and Sarge’s little niece was beside herself with delight! You haven’t seen true happiness until you’ve watched a three year old, wearing her ice cream, attempt to outrun the waves nipping at her ankles. Her squealing giggles rivaled the pitch and frequency of the seagulls and she had to be hosed off before getting back into the car. So it was really no wonder she fell asleep the second she hit the car seat.

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