"I met James at the Botanical Gardens today. There were lots of plants + trees, but the best part were the ducks. They saw us from across a patch of grass, and flew towards us. One got close to my head. I could hear the whooshing of their bodies in the wind/air. They were unafraid, and got really close to me as I photographed (or tried to) them. I wanted to touch their shiny fat bodies."
What I left out was that we'd encountered yet another public art fixture in Christchurch. I noticed that New Zealand really makes an effort to support and promote its homegrown contemporary artists. So, plopped in the middle of a green lawn in the Gardens was this wacky, colorful, blobby, plasticky mass. I HAD to touch it. And it felt great! Soft, rubbery, shiny, smooth, it had random holes of varying sizes scooped out to reveal multiple layers of colors and textures, including what looked like little styrofoam balls. It was totally fun, and I couldn't get enough of it. It was big and huggable and I loved being able to molest it with my hands. We need more of these in the U.S.
I was able to find out later that this big ball of fun is called Planet Spore, and was created in 2004 by Rohan Wealleans. Details and a straightforward explanation from Wealleans himself can be found here.
N.B. As it was still the end of winter, the few flowers blooming had just barely begun. Also, James was NOT really lifting Planet Spore. And if anyone can identify the brown bird in the last pic, feel free to let me know. Thanks!
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