Swap clothes for art | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland
Swap clothes for art
Artist Bill Riley is working on drawings for the Seek exhibition at Mangere Arts Centre. The public can donate a bag of pre-loved children's winter clothes in exchange for an original work.
Bill Riley studies the artwork in his hands, one of 1500 original drawings that will be exchanged for a bag of children's clothing.
It's a strange swap but the innovation is central to Seek, an exhibition by a collective of Auckland artists - James Ormsby, Dion Hitchens and Bill Riley, being held at the Mangere Arts Centre.
The collective formed two and a half years ago aiming to use art to engage the public in social issues.
"We'd all been in the art world quite a few years and were a bit jaded with the gallery system. We all have an interest in social values and between us we're agnostic, Buddhist and Christian and we wanted to use those different viewpoints to look at issues," Mr Riley says.
The Seek exhibition asks the public to donate winter clothes and shoes for the children of Mangere, which will be distributed by local charities. Those who donate will receive an original artwork at the end of the exhibition.
Mr Riley says the exhibitions are designed to involve the community in which they are shown and to "pay something back".
"We've embedded the notion of value in our exhibitions and we're looking at what an artist gives back to society in addition to an aesthetic experience."
The 1500 drawings were completed over six days.
"We went with multiples of 150 because that's the number of kids in New Zealand that die each year from diseases that arise from poverty," Mr Riley says.
The drawings will each be rolled up and made into a giant, complex 3D sculpture. The sculpture will be dismantled and the drawings distributed on the show's closing night.
The exhibition will include other unusual touches. "The gallery walls will be turned into a big colouring-in book so kids can come and get involved," Riley says. He says the donated clothes will be "repackaged", meaning they wouldn't just be jumbled into bags and given away.
"They will be lined up along one wall and hopefully the stack will grow as the show goes on."
Seek, find
What Seek Exhibition
Where Mangere Arts Centre, corner Bader Drive and Orly Ave.
When March 3 to April 15
How Drop off pre-loved children's shoes and winter clothes at either the Mangere Arts Centre, Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts in Pakuranga or the Auckland Art Gallery. Donations can also be made during the show.
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