Opening Tonight - The Briefcase Project

Opening Tonight - The Briefcase Project

The Briefcase Project, a collaborative art exhibition showcasing the work of 17 local artists, is opening tonight, Monday 8 August, at Thistle Hall, Wellington.

"This unique exhibition, curated by prolific Wellington based futurist/electronics artist, Rich Decibels, is the first in a series of nation-wide shows " - Spokesperson, Kelly Spencer.

According to Decibels, "Each artist has been given the spatial limitation of one briefcase, within which they've been instructed to explore the limits of their creative potential. The briefcase takes the idea of a blank canvas, and elevates it to three dimensions."

"Within these enclosures are installations of sculpture, sound design, puppetry, textiles, tattoo art, illustration and more. Viewers are invited to get hands on with these interactive works, to explore and play." says Decibels.

The show features works ranging from bizarre, to whimsical, to controversial.

- Decibels' *Brainwave Disruptor* has you donning earphones and goggles in an immersive audiovisual experience that uses different frequencies to induce a hypnotic state. Decibels cautions 'At least 1 in 10,000 subjects will experience seizures".

- Terrence Turner's* "Utu Kite *(Revenge Kit): Revenge is a dish best served with blunt force trauma"'. Presented in a black assassin-style briefcase, Turner's beautifully hand-carved patu lies idle beside an antique trade-axe, originally crafted in Britain in 1860, believed to have been used in the Maori Wars. Utu Kite will be exhibited alongside Wellington-based artist Dick Whyte's conceptual piece entitled *Stolen Land*, featuring land confiscated from parliament grounds.

- Open the lid of puppet-master extraordinaire Jon Coddington's briefcase, and you encounter *The Duel*, a clockwork battle of two bourgeois mechanical gentlemen. Lightning crashes on the boardwalk,
whilst the pair come to life before your eyes.

*OPENING NIGHT TONIGHT*

THISTLE HALL - 5pm onwards - Drinks and Nibbles provided. FREE ENTRY All are welcome. Photography encouraged. * * *Artists*

Hannah Salmon, Ben Knight, Jon Coddington, Gunter Muller, Lance Ravenswood, Kelly Spencer, Terrence Turner, Stephen Templer, Tui Harrington, Dominic Struder, Victoria Parsons, Carlos Patino, Richard Bartlett, Dan Line, Dick Whyte, Sean Duffel, Anmea Hoskin, and Ian Hammond.

* * * * ends

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