Venus keeps her toes out of the water

We are back and raring to go in 2009. I meant to post about this before Christmas but it was not to be.

As part of The Enchanted Garden, our exhibition designer Scott Everson and the curator of the exhibition, Mary Kisler, decided that a water feature inside the exhibition would be perfect to enhance the 'garden' theme and provide a fantastic platform for Antonio Canova's beautiful Venus Italica (c1812) (sleeping happily in her crate below).

Now as you may already have read here we already have a forest of Pohutakawa in the exhibition so adding a pond as well has meant even more unusual goings on in the gallery. As well as wringing of hands amongst the exhibition designer and prep team.

Here is some documentary photography as Venus finds herself moved from her cosy warm crate to the middle of a pond.

Our Preparator Glen with some hazardous materials as he prepares the pond frame.

Not Sure what is going on here but i imagine some sort of sealing of the frame again by our prep Glen.



Glen putting a waterproof layer on the frame as Venus shivers in the background at the thought of leaving for the cold black box behind her.





Venus longingly looking back at her crate, as she is all wrapped up and brought out into the open.




Th sides going on the pond as curator Mary Kisler oversees the installation progress



Exhibition designer Scott and Preparator Shane check their handy-work as the stones are added to the pond.


Shane starts to put the tiles around the edge of the pond.


The pond nearly finished.




All finished as Venus rises from the water with a bottom to be admired by all. A definite highlight of the exhibition(Venus and the pond, not just her bottom).


Photos by Jennifer French and John McIver

The Enchanted Garden is on show until 8 February



Credit:
Antonio Canova
Venus Italica
marble c1812
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, gift of Mr Moss Davis, 1931