Organised Play

In 1913 Arthur Thomas Myers bought the land between Greys Avenue and Queen Street and gifted this to Auckland city, land he developed into an inner-city park with a free kindergarten and playground. The park was named “Myers Park” in his honour. The sculptural installation, For Arthur, acknowledges the crucial role Myers had in transforming the neglected land into a space that supported the safety, development, and dreams of many young children.

The original playground was constructed with special playground equipment Myers imported from the US. It followed a model in the US called “The Reform Park” where parks were being developed closer to where people lived and as safe places for children to play. The animated work, Myers Playground, explores this playground as an incubator of ambition, imagination, and confidence, each musical note a childhood memory.

The title of the exhibition, Organised Play, refers to the desire to create organised and instructional play areas as embodied by the US playground movements during the turn of the 20th century. It was considered essential for the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of children, and filtered through into the design of Myer’s playground. It also describes the nature of Novak’s works; carefully organised geometric forms that play in the spaces they are installed.

The five wall works reflect on Novak’s childhood experiences with playgrounds in New Zealand; the bliss in swinging towards the heavens in Rocket Swing, helplessness in being held mid air in LockedSeesaw, and the tests of endurance in Battle Bars. There is also the curiosity in controlling speed in Slide Throttleand the private conversations in Asphalt Confessionary.

Shannon Novak is an artist based in Auckland, New Zealand. He works in painting, sculpture, and installation, with a focus on using geometric forms to explore his deep and abiding interest in the interrelationships between sound, colour, form, time, space, and social context. He completed a residency at CentralTrak, The University of Texas at Dallas Artists Residency in 2011, has been engaged in public commissions in Auckland, New Plymouth, and Denver, and co-founded West gallery at The University of Auckland in 2012. For more info see http://trishclark.co.nz/artists/novak-shannon/

Opening Thursday 7 August

Exhibition runs until Saturday 30 August

Performance event Thursday 28 August, 7.30pm start, free entry.

Special thanks to CNZ and Becks for their continued support

Jeff Henderson responds to the work For Arthur from Shannon Novak on Vimeo.