Gail Priest, in Luc Peire's Environment III, Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tomaki photo Gail Priest |
reason for travelling
An unabashed holiday involving campervanning around the North Island
alternate realities
For Cayce Pollard, the hypersensitive American cool-hunter in William Gibson’s novel Pattern Recognition (2003), the sensation of being in London is like inhabiting a mirror world, everything the same, just horizontally flipped. I was reminded of this as a Sydney-sider in Auckland where things can seem alarmingly familiar, but rather than flippage it’s a sensation of slippage—a parallel universe where just a few small details have been altered. There’s a stunning harbour, great eating, interesting galleries, underground cool, an ancient indigenous culture overlaid by a recent colonial history and a city skyline dominated by a building that looks like a giant swizzelstick. However it’s the Sydney-that-would-be if we had a quarter of the population (New Zealand’s total population is roughly equivalent to that of Sydney’s alone), and if we had demolished fewer old buildings and embraced a more visible presence of our contemporary Indigenous culture (though this is by no means straightforward). And of course New Zealanders are so laidback and friendly!
Auckland skyline photo Gail Priest |
I had a curious introduction to Auckland via an in-flight video by local New Zealand personality Marcus Lush, who conducted an A-Z tour of Auckland as part of his TV series North. At the risk of stereotyping, he’s the New Zealander we’ve come to know from the Flight of the Concords—an understated mix of cynicism and sweet sentimentality. His tour guides us to strange rusty sculptures in out-of-the way parks; jogging paths (he suggests jogging was invented in Auckland); a tap at the back of a property that provides water from a genuine artesian spring; and a volcanic cave that’s just under someone’s garage. At first glance I thought, “Wow, he’s hard pressed to find things of interest in Auckland,” but in fact he introduces the idea of seeking small, nuanced pleasures in the niches of this beautiful city. (You can view the episode here, just ignore the error message saying you can’t view it outside of New Zealand; it seems playback is not blocked for Australia—we are honorary New Zealanders after all.)
for culture…
Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tomaki photo Gail Priest |
Surrounding the Art Gallery is a precinct of smaller galleries, mainly commercial, but a bit further down into the centre is Auckland’s newest, and totally thriving artist-run-space, Snake Pit. Housed in a three-level commercial building which the owner has offered free of charge (for the moment), Snake Pit operates as a gallery and a music venue drawing on a strong student base and alumni from the Elam School for Fine Arts, University of Auckland, which co-founder Sam Thomas attended. It is also a hub for young fashion designers with its own shop, headed by co-founder Rosie Thomas. It’s ambitious, well attended and pretty darn cool.
The Parisian Tie Factory, home of the Audio Foundation, on the edge of Myers Park photo Gail Priest |
For cross-over experimental/alternative rock music there’s the Wine Cellar and Whammy Bar, literally 50 metres from Audio Foundation, hidden down the back steps of the historic St Kevin’s Arcade (was there really a St Kevin?). The Wine Cellar comprises a small room at the front for intimate gigs and the Whammy Bar, a bigger backroom. On the night I popped in I was treated to some amazing multitasking by Hide and Tallow, a one man band on drums, foot-pedal activated synth and spoken word, and the ridiculously epic and quite virtuosic post-rock-prog-hair-metal of Shepherds of Cassini.
On Monday nights, I was told, the Wine Cellar is home to Vitamin-S which is Auckland’s improv organisation, running weekly events as well as workshops. Programs generally consist of random trios drawn from “the pool” of Vitamin-S artists (open for anyone to join). It also plays host to travelling improv troubadours and masters.
view of Auckland harbour from the Sky Tower photo Gail Priest |
for refreshment…
Auckland's baristas are testament to the fact that the Antipodes has it all over the northern hemisphere when it comes to coffee—not a single bad soy latte in my two-week trip. And plenty of good places to imbibe not only coffee but other beverages and local produce. My favourite was Imperial Lane, a large converted carpark with great breakfasts such as the genius concept of a breakfast salad—lettuce, mushrooms, avocado, bacon and a poached egg; or Danish creamed eggs with smoked salmon and pickles on rye bread; not to mention the French toast with tamarillo and crème fraiche. I regret I never got back to try the lunch/dinner tapas menu. Above Imperial Lane are another two floors of bars in what was once an old theatre.
Late night dining can often be a problem earlier on in the week in a foreign city, but we managed to stumble upon the simply titled Mezze Bar that always seemed to be open when we needed it. Again not crowded, candle lit, comfortable rustic furniture and with a large enough selection of wines, including sherries, and tapas style dishes to warrant repeat visits.
Across in Ponsonby, just out of the city centre and known for its shopping and gallery strip, I stumbled upon my best dining experience. Long Room offers a fascinating menu of Asian and Mexican dishes side by side, and it kind of makes sense. The confit of duck salad on Asian greens with mandarin and cashews was great and I only wished I’d been there with someone else to share a platter of Long Room fishcakes, chilli salt squid, green lip mussels and akaroa salmon gravlax. The wine menu featuring those famous crisp New Zealand whites also impressed.
For quick eating, there seems to be an endless (far more than in Australia) selection of sushi bars and Korean barbeque restaurants. And not to be missed are the fabulous Taiwanese/French cakes and sweets found at La Couronne. And while I would not normally frequent a Belgian beer bar, the Occidental in the city centre was perfect for a late Saturday afternoon Lambic cherry beer and steaming plate of New Zealand mussels with coriander and lemon.
for wandering…
Albert Park, Auckland photo Gail Priest |
Then of course there is the spectacular harbour and its lapping waves of queer milky green. Just last year for the World Cup, the new Wynyard Quarter was opened, creating a an expansive promenade along the harbour foreshore and marinas, with a range of restaurants (all huge and uncrowded, even on Father’s Day afternoon), the Viaduct Events Centre and an ingenious kids' play area surrounded by industrial detritus and towering silos (although I was told the silos were going to be knocked down for redevelopment—a little bit of Sydney style after all).
Silt Line, Rachel Shearer and Hillary Taylor, Wynard Quarter photo Gail Priest |
(Thanks to Zoe Drayton for alerting me so to some of these activities.)
links
Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tomaki http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/
Snake Pit http://www.snakepit.co.nz/
Audio Foundation http://www.audiofoundation.org.nz/
The Wine Cellar & Whammy Bar
https://www.facebook.com/WineCellarStKevins
Vitamin-S http://www.vitamin-s.co.nz/
Imperial Lane http://www.theimperiallane.co.nz/
Mezze Bar http://mezzebar.co.nz/
Long Room http://www.longroom.co.nz/
La Couronne http://www.lacouronne.co.nz/lacouronne/
Occidental http://www.occidentalbar.co.nz/
Albert Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Park,_Auckland
Myers Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers_Park,_Auckland
Western Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Park,_Auckland
Wynyard Quarter http://www.waterfrontauckland.co.nz/
Rachel Shearer’s The Flooded Mirror http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/newseventsculture/Arts/publicart/Pages/waterfrontsculpturetrail.aspx
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Gail Priest is a Sydney-based artist whose multi-faceted practice focuses on sound as the key material of communication and investigation. She performs live electroacoustic music, creates sound design for performance and video and has created her own installations. She is also the Associate Editor and Online Producer for RealTime. She has just released a split vinyl 12inch with Kate Carr titled Blue | Green. http://www.gailpriest.net
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© Gail Priest; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]