To mark the 20th anniversary of Vitamin S, the Audio Foundation is pleased to present an exhibition charting the history and development of this grass-roots collective.

In 2002, Vitamin S was devised as a place where those interested in improvised music and performance could meet, perform, listen to, discuss, and generally interact with all aspects of this complex and largely misunderstood art form. 20 years later it is still providing an opportunity for any interested individual to perform with others each Monday in ‘Pool Night’ events – which comprise two trios of Vitamin S members chosen at random. Each week, new combinations of players and instruments combine and new music emerges as a result. Rain or shine.

Here we present a selection of photos and videos taken over the 20-year history of Vitamin S, in various venues and situations, as well as new works by some members. The quality of these documents, snapshots in time, moments out of order — grainy, blurry, blown-out, full of energy — provide a glimpse into this community, their music and comradeship.

The curator of this exhibition – guitarist, photographer and Vitamin S stalwart Paul Buckton, observes the following about his relationship with this long-running collective and the documents which surround it:

I started taking photos at gigs in the 1970s, and after moving to Auckland in 1997 began using a small (8mp probably) digital camera to document the happenings at Vitamin S. More recently, I have been documenting Vitamin S Pool Nights and other events at the Wine Cellar with a digital SLR and a range of lenses. Given the physical situation of these events — small, intimate venues with low lighting — I rarely use flash and tend to shoot from the back of the room. I have needed to uprate film speed to 6400 and beyond to capture as much information as possible. This gives a graininess to the images which are often shot in monochrome, which, coupled with blurred movement, adds to the atmosphere of a single moment captured during performance.

I’d like to thank all the performers from over the years, whether on show here or otherwise, for allowing their images to be used. I’d also like to draw attention to those who helped make Vitamin S what it has become, and who are not here to celebrate with us.

I am particularly grateful to Derek Tearne for finding and extracting images from the Vitamin S website of those early days in the Odeon Café/Bar (Mt Eden Rd), a repurposed cinema then funeral parlour, and Luxemburg Gardens (a short-lived community art space (so many stairs!)) on Quay St, Auckland CBD).

Photographers have been acknowledged where known; others will just have to reside in their own anonymity.

Opens: Wednesday 13 April, 5.30pm (with refreshments from Liberty Brewing Company)
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12 – 4pm
Closes: Saturday 7 May

Paul would like to thank the following for their contributions to Vitamin S and this exhibition:

Martin Harms, John Kennedy, Andrew Clifford, Paul Winstanley (Joe Pineapple), Ralph Talmont, Raewyn Whyte, Phil Dadson, Wade Cornell, Ivan Mrsic and probably others.

Vitamin S would not exist without the ongoing work of its team, Jess, Inda, Joel, Derek, Darridge and particularly Drew, who has been there the whole time.

And finally to the great and long-suffering Rohan Evans, proprietor of the Wine Cellar, without whom organising a weekly event would be a challenge. He supports the music and he owns a venue. How lucky we are.

“Our music is about the inadequacy of traditional imagery and symbols to convey meaning in today’s world. By abandoning representationalism we are free to express ourselves with pure form. Specific interpretation gives way to a more visceral response.” from: Calvin and Hobbes.