Just like the music, the atmosphere and the performances, spectacular art content has become a hallmark of the Splore festival experience. As the audience has come to expect, there will be an innovative spectrum of over 30 art installations, mainly from New Zealand artists.

Just like the music, the atmosphere and the performances, spectacular art content has become a hallmark of the Splore festival experience. As the audience has come to expect, there will be an innovative spectrum of over 30 art installations, mainly from New Zealand artists.

Meditations on love and community, exploration of human connectivity and confrontations to our sensual perception are some of the common themes emerging from the Splore 2014 arts programme as a host of artists respond to the 10th festival.

“We are excited to bring you original works from artists around the country” says Splore art director Ross Liew. “Within a programme that delivers a dynamic, challenging and at times, experimental  immersion into contemporary arts practice, we have selected many gems to pique your interest.”

The collective establishment of a cumulative tribute dedicated to the concept of Jaan is at the centre of Brydee Rood and Chiman Dangi’s work. Jaan is an Indian word meaning love, air, life and  energy. In the creation of a Jaan temple the audience is invited to pay an interactive tribute to the dedication of time, energy and object around the idea of love.

Offering alternate modes of transportation and unleashing our inherent desire for horseplay, Jill Sorenson taps into the inner child with a series of pieces that invite the audience to suspend conditioned notions of appropriate adult behaviour. These pieces are designed for the enthusiastic Splore audience and by festivals end will wear their scars like a badge of honour.

Fresh from Sydney’s Art & About, Angus Muir and Alexandra Healy bring you their mesmerising  work, Field. Offering hundreds of new perspectives on the truly beautiful site of Tapapakanga, Field is not only a celebration of the place itself; it is meditation on the nature of perspective. As you pass through, you will find yourself questioning what is real and which is image, with Field asking us to reflect on ourselves, those around us, our past, and what is just around the corner.

Fitting hand in glove with Splore’s sustainable ethos is Sarah Lancaster’s Sew Some Love installation. More accurately a communal crafting space, Sew Some Love is an invitation to enter into Sarah’s world of upcycling, repurposing, community spirit and creative application of thought. Creating everything from the practical to the decorative, a visit to Sarah will have your campsite accessorised and your costumes preened.

Duncan Speakman and Circumstance from the UK create cinematic experiences in unexpected environments and work with the narrative of experience, the politics of public space, sound and mobile technology, wrapping all these up in melancholy and romance. Their work for Splore will  delve into what it feels like to age. Our ability to remember what it was like to move as a child and how fast the world must seem to move as our bodies slow down with age. Relatives of Long Ago Lovers is based around the creation of a participatory audio experience that lets the audience  explore how our understanding of the world, of ourselves and of each other change as we age.

Love Creatures is an interactive and collaborative artwork designed for the Splore community,  with support from the Auckland Council Creative Communities Scheme. It is a project that gives the audience an opportunity to interact with one another through art, digital technology, and  smartphones. You can become a Love Creature by attaching markers to your body or outfit, and with the Love Creatures app others will be able to see digital costume pieces thanks to augmented  reality and digital creations by Kim Newall. Share the love with other creatures by uploading photos of yourself, and join in the Love Creatures dance performance.

Media Release: Splore