Natalie’s Guy sculpture Karesansui makes a unique contribution to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, a celebration of the South Pacific garden.
Karesansui is a Japanese rock garden. While this is natural in the context of New Zealand native plants and Auckland’s botanic treasures, it’s ironic in the sense that a Zen garden is a recent invention by westerners.
“This brass garden relates to interiors (materiality) and ambiguity, it is a garden but also a display. Like the term ‘Zen garden’, this garden is also a fiction.”
Natalie says the work is also a projection of westeners’ ideas of Zen onto their version of Japanese style. It is imaginary and the simple, expensive looking material further reflects the values we attach to the idea of zen.
The Parnell-based artist exhibited at Elements of Freethinking (Hamilton), headland Sculpture on the Gulf and NZ Sculpture OnShore. Her works are held at Waikato Museum, The Wallace Arts Trust and Woollahra Council.
Natalie is leading a free artist guided walk of the sculpture trail this Sunday. The walk starts at 1pm from the visitor centre. Sunday visitors can also enjoy live music on the terrace from 11.30am-2.30pm.
Sculpture in the Gardens is on at Auckland Botanic Gardens until 6 March.
