Photographer John Pennington at his exhibition 4:10 Upstairs at Gizzy Local. Photo / Kim Parkinson
A new exhibition of photographs by John Pennington opened on Wednesday night at Gizzy Local in the Gisborne city centre.
The exhibition - titled 4:10 Upstairs - features bodies in time and space.
A collaboration between Pennington, Sarah Cleave and her daughter Lennox, the exhibition provides a glimpse into the second-level interiors of premises at 64 and 72 Lowe St in the central business district before earthquake-strengthening work began.
Cleave and Lennox are wearing a stretchy fabric in the photographs, creating interesting shapes which have a sculptural quality.
Pennington said he was taken by the light and wanted to capture that while positioning his models in interesting ways.
The result is a series of photographic prints available for sale, with proceeds going to Gizzy Local.
Pennington and his wife artist Valerie Bos moved to Gisborne in 2022. Bos is represented by Gisborne art gallery Paul Nache.
Pennington’s last exhibition was in November at Photospace Gallery in Wellington. It was titled This is How We Live - the name taken from an ongoing project based in Gisborne.
“The impetus for this project comes from the need to locate myself as a recent arrival into Tairāwhiti and to reflect the diverse nature of this community,” he said in his artist statement.
A book and exhibition at Tairāwhiti Museum will follow in the New Year.
4:10 Upstairs - photography exhibition, Gizzy Local, 64 Lowe St, CBD.
Friday, December 20 from 12pm-2pm; Saturday, December 21: 1pm-3pm; Sunday, December 22: 1pm-3pm
Emergency services in the Eastern Police District, which includes Tairāwhiti, are reminding the public about giving way to emergency service vehicles.
“When you see an emergency service vehicle behind you engaged in urgent duty driving, which means lights flashing, and often sirens going, you are required by law to pull to the side of the road and stop as soon as soon as it is safe to do so,” police said in a release. “Once the vehicles pass you, you can resume your journey, but be cognisant of other vehicles on the road.
“We’ve had recent examples where drivers don’t pull over to allow the police vehicle behind them to pass,” Senior Sergeant Caroline Martin said. “This delays police from being able to respond quickly to emergency situations. Please help us by allowing our teams to get to those in need. It might just save lives.”
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said it was essential emergency responders were not impeded from doing their jobs “as it can be the difference between life and death for those we are trying to help”.
“It’s on us all of us to use and share our roads responsibly. That way we have the best chance to respond and assist whenever and wherever we are needed.”
Hato Hone St John said it often encountered motorists who did not follow the road rules when ambulances and support vehicles were travelling under lights and sirens.
“Sometimes minutes and even seconds count, so please use your indicator and pull over when it is safe to do so,” a St John spokesman said.
The eighth and ninth cruise ship visits for the season to Gisborne were a no-go because of sea conditions and the southerly weather.
The 244-metre-long Silver Nova was to call here for the day on Wednesday but a ship’s agent said the visit was cancelled due to big seas.
”Seas were running at between 3 and 5 metres offshore. The Silver Nova would not have been able to go to anchor in the Bay. The ship will call again on January 24 and hopefully the weather will be better.
”The visit from the National Geographic Orion [Thursday] has also been cancelled for the same reasons.”
A log ship remained at anchor in the lee of Young Nicks Head on Thursday because of strong surge conditions in the port caused by the southerly swells.
The surf on the city beaches was running at 1.5 and 2 metres in stormy, messy conditions.
This week’s weather rained on the parade of Eastwoodhill Arboretum’s Christmas In The Trees event which was to be held last night, but all is not lost.
Organisers made what turned out to be the right call on Tuesday to pull the pin on Christmas In The Trees due to the forecast.
In a post on the Eastwoodhill Arboretum Facebook page, general manager Garrett Blair said the team were “gutted, but ultimately the safety of our visitors and staff is paramount”.
While Christmas In The Trees did not go ahead, Blair said they were looking at running an event near the end of January or in early February, which would be “a celebration of all things summer”.
“Details are yet to be confirmed but if this sounds like a bit of you and the family, we would be more than happy to carry your tickets over to that event. If you are looking at a full or partial refund, please let us know and we can process that as soon as possible.”
Refunds can be accessed through the ticketing link, or email Eastwoodhill at enquiries@eastwoodhill.org.nz.