Howick is about to be taken over by Eastern Artscape featuring original New Zealand sculptures.
The week-long event opens tomorrow at Fencible Walk in Picton Street, and includes demonstrations, open studios with artists, and gardening tours and workshops.
Sculptor Aaron McConchie has been burning the midnight oil in his East Tamaki workshop, putting the final touches to his piece The Small Revolution. Nine bicycles are welded together in a circle and they can all be ridden simultaneously. “It took a couple of trial and errors to get them into a circle,” says Mr McConchie.
“The problem with a bike is that the geometry of the frame wants to go straight. As soon as you try to make it go around a corner, it leans into the corner.”
Because each bike is attached to another one, they all need to remain vertical. This demanded some creative engineering with the frames, but the fascinating result is worth Mr McConchie’s painstaking labour.
He likes people to interact with his work and encourages them to jump on and have a ride, although they will find themselves going around in circles.
“The point of it is that many hands make light work. One person can get on there, work hard and have a good time, but nine people can get on and have a great time.”
He enjoys the physical side of this kind of work, and working on a larger scale.
Last year, Mr McConchie’s high-profile sculpture The Continuous Work of (a) Giant(s), consisting of blue pallets stacked like a house of cards, caught the eye of thousands of motorists along Highbrook Drive in East Tamaki.
He says it’s great to see Uxbridge – Howick’s creative centre, the Howick Village Association and the community bringing a breath of fresh air to the village.
