After checking out historical Golder Cottage yesterday, our SLG friends stopped for a tasty lunch then moved on to Expressions Gallery. Ashley was organising our day out, and thought we would be interested in the two quite different major exhibitions on show.
The Gloaming exhibition featured sculptures from Johnny Fraser-Allen’s incredible children’s fantasy series. He has worked at Weta Workshop as a Conceptual Designer, Sculptor and Model Maker since he was a teenager, contributing to such films as King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Tintin and most recently the Hobbit. His work on The Gloaming is a combination and celebration of nearly a decades worth of skills learnt in the fantasy special effects industry, and put to use to create his own take on the Faerie mythologies of the world. There were some rather scary models on display, so we presume that they would appeal to an older age group. Very young children would no doubt have night-mares!
The intricate models are real little works of art and have to be seen close up to appreciate the details. Large photos are also on display and we were told the story behind them The models were taken down to the South Island and placed in various areas of the West Coast Forests, resulting in rather lifelike photos.
Models and photos at The Gloaming Exhibition
The second exhibition was more down to earth than woodland creatures and showcased the skill of New Zealand's leading rugby photographer Peter Bush. Rugby is our national game and has a huge following in this country. Peter Bush describes capturing an All Black game as 'a total workout', he chased the game up and down the field, while others set up their cameras and waited for the game to come to them.
“Hard on the Heels” featured over 100 images of great All Black moments, games and players over a 60 year period. The exhibition was drawn from Bush's vast library of photographs and features personal favourites, the controversial and contentious, alongside humorous, candid behind-the-scenes shots.
Checking out some of the rugby photos 
Running with the ball out of the mist
Photos of players scoring great tries, the team performing the haka, weary players covered in mud, and shower room banter, the photos brought back memories for anyone who follows the game. And even a non sporty type like me could appreciate the raw talent of tough Kiwi men trying to keep their hands on that bullet shaped ball at all times. For All Blacks, winning is everything, there is no prize for coming second!
Our SLG friends had a very interesting day out, something for everyone. Then it was back to Ashley’s home for afternoon tea. Thanks to Ashley for putting it all together.
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