Sound designer Tim Prebble and filmmaker Denise Batchelor have been selected as the 2013 Auckland regional parks artists in residence.
Both artists will live within the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park for eight weeks creating original work inspired by their surroundings, and opening people’s ears and eyes to hidden creatures and features within the park.
Councillor Sandra Coney, chair of the Parks, Recreation and Heritage Forum and part of the residency selection panel, says they were so impressed with the calibre of entries they extended the residency programme to two artists for 2013.
“We felt they were both very original, talented artists who have an insightful involvement in the natural world and would uncover unexplored gems in this regional park.
“Ms Batchelor has a talent for capturing the overlooked and undernoticed. We can’t wait to see what she discovers in the Waitakere’s through her lens. This is also the first time we’ve selected a filmmaker for our residency.
“Mr Prebble’s work conveys a profound appreciation for the sounds of nature so his proposal to create a musical piece based on our native birdcalls is exciting,†she says.
Mr Prebble will blend his technical skills as an award-winning sound designer with his musical talent and creative flair, turning raw, natural sounds into compositions. He’ll record local native birdcalls, slow the recordings to allow notation and then ‘play with this as the DNA of music’, embellishing and orchestrating it. On completion, his music will be played at a local venue and a CD, tentatively called The Bird Song Preludes, will be available after his residency. People will be able to follow his progress and hear work in progress via his blog www.musicofsound.co.nz.
Ms Batchelor, an Oratia local, makes mesmerising mini-films, capturing transitions and serendipitous events of nature. Her work is immersive and sensory and sometimes features small details or parts of a being. She creates small vignettes that reveal something of the character of our creatures. Denise’s understated yet alluring work may later be shown at the Arataki Visitor Centre.
Both artists are also excellent photographers so some photos of their residency will also be shared with public.
Mr Prebble and Ms Batchelor will be at work in the park during October and November this year. Tim will work from Barr Cottage at Little Huia and Denise from Craw Homestead near Anawhata.
Last year’s Artist in residence James Ormsby gifted three significant works to Auckland Council. Two of his illuminated manuscripts are being printed as posters and will be available to local schools and libraries and will be hung at the park, where he worked, Tapapakanga.
