Exhibition Opens Up The World Of The Masons

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PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION OPENS UP THE WORLD OF THE MASONS

The Wanaka Masonic Lodge will be on display – literally and artistically - in an exhibition by award-winning fine arts photographer, Fiona Pardington, as part of the Southern Lakes Festival of Colour in Lake Wanaka.

Helping Hands is Fiona Pardington’s exploration of the parallels between the concept of Masonic Lodge membership and her own Ngai Tahu heritage, and the links between the Masonic philosophy of helping hands within the community and the Maori concept of awhina.

Some photographs will be displayed within the Wanaka Masonic Lodge but most will be used to create a giant photo-mural on the outside of the building, to give an insight into the work of the Masons. The mural will include an image of a giant ‘cloak’ of kakapo feathers, ‘thrown around’ the Lodge building, representing the helping hands that throw the cloak around the shoulders of another, in essence an action that reflects the work of the Masons.

Ms Pardington was recently announced as one of two New Zealand contemporary artists chosen to appear in the Musée du Quai Branly, a major new museum currently under construction in Paris, France. Her work, a gift from the New Zealand government, will form part of the museum’s Pacific Collection. Musée du Quai Branly is one of the largest indigenous art projects in the world and will focus on the arts and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

Helping Hands takes place in the Wanaka Masonic Lodge from 26 April – 1 May from 10am to 3pm. Admission is free. The Festival of Colour brings five days and four nights of music, theatre, dance and the visual arts to Lake Wanaka from 27 April to 1 May. For more information visit www.festivalofcolour.co.nz.

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