Art & creativity  |  2 Dec 2020

In Kahoots, an immersive 3D art work that combines artificial intelligence with retro pop music, is set to make a visit to Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū a must-do this summer.

The art work is the result of a collaboration between sculptor/painter Judy Darragh and interactive video artist Sean Kerr and will challenge the way people think of art.

It combines artificial intelligence, highbrow concepts, lowbrow humour, dance and retro pop music and is one of several exhibitions in the gallery’s All Art All Summer season that is designed to make everyone feel welcome at the gallery over the summer months.

“No two visitors to In Kahoots will experience it in the same way,” says Assistant Curator Nathan Pōhio.

In Kahoots is an ever-changing 3D experience that in a sense feeds on itself – by reworking the artists’ source material, the algorithm constantly regenerates its own sounds and images into new art. This is the first time In Kahoots has been to Christchurch – but really, everyone who visits will experience a first.”

From a technical standpoint, In Kahoots incorporates animation, machine learning, and automated text-to-voice generator to create a brand new way to experience art.

In Kahoots encourages people to literally be a part of a truly unique work of art, and create lifelong memories for audiences of all ages. It’s fun for kids, and food for thought for everyone looking for a little extra,” Mr Pōhio says.

Also part of the All Art All Summer season is Pauline Rhodes Blue Mind exhibition. It is an intense, one-room display that offers an immersive abstract experience while focusing attention of the natural world, especially our oceans.

Pauline Rhodes is one of New Zealand’s most recognised and acclaimed installation artists. Since the 1970s her local area around the hills and beaches of Banks Peninsula has often been her focus.

“Rhodes’ work is very in keeping with the idea of ‘taking only memories and leaving only footprints’ and Blue Mind highlights her long practice of salvaging and transforming a wide array of materials,” says Lead Curator Felicity Milburn.

“She repurposes driftwood, plywood, wool, cloth, glass, plants and more, sometimes using natural processes such as rusting, to create installations that encourage visitors to focus on colour, texture and shape.

“By introducing elements from the natural world into the Gallery context, she creates new relationships between them, the viewers and the architecture of the space. She wants to encourage us to look slowly and see deeply, and to recognise the world around us as something that is fluid and fragile.”

“Like many New Zealanders, she has always had a strong connection with the sea, and has witnessed with concern how increasingly warm, polluted and acidified oceans have affected marine life,” Ms Milburn says.

Blue Mind emphasises the importance of understanding  the land and sea as interconnected, appreciating that life on earth depends on the health of the oceans.”

Find out more about Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.