Summer Daze

Summer Daze takes on the cosmos, the great outdoors and the joy of recreation. The exhibition reconsiders global and local experience, away from deadlines, the wired-world of PlayStation, Xbox games and reality television. Life-styles, new attitudes and a timeless fascination for ways to create art are referenced through a range of experiential art works.

More at home in a paddock or parked at the crest of a hill, a stalwart of New Zealand farming culture - a red Massey Harris Pony tractor - celebrates rural life. Flying bugs, a crushed iron stump-like sculpture, a larger-than-life bull, the sound of barking farm dogs and nervous sheep, provide an open doorway to 'life down on the farm'.

We wait all year for summer. Swimming rituals, going on holiday, family entertainment and play, all connect to how well we know the environment and each other. Holiday activities add to a sense of wonder of our unique place, a fascination for nature, and our enchantment with summer's culture.

This exhibition features easy read wall texts, interactive activities for children and storytelling.