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Blutopia: Manifesto 

 

Developed especially for the atrium space of the Tauranga Art Gallery, John Reynolds’ new show Blutopia: MANIFESTO is a comment on all things ‘blue’. 

With a tableau of street protest placards with slogans, word plays and drawings, this rowdy installation invites you to think about the qualities and associations we often take for granted. 

Auckland-based artist Reynolds was a participant in an expedition of New Zealand and Australian artists to the Kermedec region.

The trip inspired many of the artists to make new work that referenced the areas they visited and in particular the plight of our oceans and the human impact on pristine marine areas. 

 

 

 

The installation makes a simple yet dramatic appeal for a public sense of ownership of the broader environmental commitments we need to make to maintain our threatened ocean's fierce beauty and remarkable biodiversity.

The protest placards poised around the gallery walls have the intention of conveying an urgency in communicating the real threat our ocean environments face, and the reality that globally time is running out. 

The show is accompanied by a ‘manifesto’ that will be free to visitors.

There are copies of the Blutopia book available for purchase along with other John Reynolds treasures including small canvases, signed posters, and a range of one-off badge works.

 

 

Blutopia: MANIFESTO show consists of a wordy, a very wordy, yet strongly visual presentation of thoughts around the issue of the challenges we all face regarding the protection and wellbeing of the oceans around New Zealand, and beyond. 

Principal Funder

Annual Strategic Partners