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Passport to theNew Millennium
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Passport to the New Millenium
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Philip Trusttum's Passport to the New Millenium was a millennium project initiated by
Christvchurch City Councillor, Anna Crighton in 1999. The artist was invited to comlete a series
of panels that celebrated the new century to be placed along the West Wall of the Christchurch
Convention Centre. It was intended that at the end of the year in December 2000 the panels would
be dismantled and sold, either in sections or as singel art works to publick and private
collections. The Centre of Contemporary Art (COCA) was invited to act as agent for the sale
of the panels and initially approached galleries and clients thoughout New Zealand, inviting
them to view and purchase the works. However, within the first week of profiling the panels for
sale it became apparent that there was an overwhelming enthusiasm among the art community
and art institutions for Passport to remain in its current location. Passport
was a unique public art work that should be retained as it was conceived and held for the city of
Christchurch for all time.
Accordingly, COCA's director, Warren Feeney, established a fundraising compaign to secure the
necessary revenue to purchase the work for the city. In addition to private donations, significant
grants from the Department of Internal Affairs, the Christchurch City Council, and the Canterbury
Community Trust, ensured that by 2004, the required sum of $250,000 had been raised for the
retention of Passport in the Christchurch Convention Centre.
"A mural to stretch from Kilmore Street to Peterborough Street alond the west wall of the Christchurch Convention Centre! What to paint?". "I needed words for this mural,” said Philip Trusttum. "I started with the Concise Oxford Dictionary definition of the word Millennium: 'Period of a thousand years. That of Christ's reign in person on earth. Period of good government, great happiness, and prosperity.'" Trusttum says, "When I got to the word prosperity I still had a quarter of the mural to finish. In its definition The Oxford Dictionary refers to Revelations XX, 1-5. So I used part of verse 1 to finish. "And I saw an angel come down". Feeney considers the significance of the text Passport invites comparison with his earlier works. "While the artist's commitment and passion for the game of tennis inspired the Motif Series from mid 1990's, vital to this body of work was the use of the printed word. Sports gear, tennis balls, rackets, and clothing all found their way into these paintings through fragments of letters, colours and numbers as the artist integrated this calligraphy onto large textured and coloured canvases. Passport to the New Millennium gives free reign to this visual dialogue allowing the artist to generate and expand a dynamic and inventive penmanship." Feeney says Passport does more than compound that interest in calligraphy. "The unravelling of line upon form and colour throughout the 84 metres of the continuously unfolding iconography celebrates the artist's abililty to alter, extend, diminish, and invent, to the point where the phrases and text lose their initial meaning, confirming theat the artist is acting as the consummate designer." "This is a work of art that invites its audience to walk, amble, bound and run beside, and with it. It offers those who are interested an opportunity to be taken by the artist on a profound and spirited journey through mark and surface, colour and line. The total dimension is 84.180 metres long and 2.440 metres high. There are 140 particle board panels, each numbered and signed. The work took 6 months to complete, used 121 litres of acrylic paint and 80 litres of undercoat and sealer. Brian High's videos show this process in action. Contact: Brian High Photographer 51 Broadway Avenue, Timaru, New Zealand. Phone/fax 00 64 3 686 0581 |
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Contact
Phone: 64 (0)3 3792772
Postal Address:
18 Peterborough Street,
Christchurch 1
New Zealand
Phone: 64 (0)3 3792772
Postal Address:
18 Peterborough Street,
Christchurch 1
New Zealand