Festival of Colour mural at Remarkables Park

A photographic mural acknowledging the quiet and generous spirit of Masons in New Zealand has been erected in Queenstown for the duration of the Southern Lakes Festival of Colour.

Helping Hands was created by fine arts photographer Fiona Pardington and is currently being exhibited at the entrance to the Remarkables Park Town Centre. The mural was exhibited in the first Festival of Colour in Wanaka and returns this year to appear on the other side of the Crown Range in celebration of five events being hosted in Queenstown and two in Glenorchy for the first time. The mural will be de-installed on Monday 18 April.

It explores the parallels between the concept of Masonic Lodges, the artist’s Ngai Tahu heritage, and links between the Masonic philosophy of helping hands within the community
Olivia Porter Special Project Executive for Remarkables Park said she was delighted that the Festival was coming to Queenstown for the first time and that she took great pleasure in helping to bring the mural to locals and visitors coming to Remarkables Park.

“Fiona Pardington is one of New Zealand’s most respected contemporary photographers and the mural is in homage to what she has seen of the rituals and traditions of the Masonic Lodge, a distinctive feature of many towns in New Zealand,” she said.

Pardington’s work has been shown most recently at the Sydney Biennale 2010. In 2006-07 she was a Ngai Tahu Artist in Residence and in 2003 she was one of the principal artists in Te Puawai o Ngai Tahu, an exhibition celebrating the achievements of contemporary Ngai Tahu artists.

The Southern Lakes Festival of Colour is a biennial celebration of the arts, from 12 to 17 April, which brings six days of music, theatre, dance and the visual arts to Lake Wanaka.

Performances taking place at Queenstown Memorial Hall this year include Rita and Douglas (12 April) Passing Wind (13 April) Ole Ola (14 April) and The Phoenix Foundation (15 April) while at Glenorchy Hall is C’mon Black! (15 April) and Guru of Chai (16 April).

For more information or to view the programme visit www.festivalofcolour.co.nz or to buy tickets visit Queenstown i-SITE Visitor Centre on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets.

For more information about Remarkables Park visit www.remarkablespark.com.