Groups of people, men included, have been loitering outside the ladies' toilets at Kerikeri Domain and - after casting nervous glances around the street - making furtive forays inside the cubicles.
But it's not what you think.
The loiterers are in fact art enthusiasts, checking out an exhibition by a NorthTec applied
arts student.
Called Sorry for the Inconvenience, the one-day-only exhibition featured an artwork by Kerikeri woman Sam Stevens.
The scroll-like work uses graphite, India ink, charcoal and pastel on 8.5m of Fabriano rag paper, spooling from a toilet roll dispenser.
Mrs Stevens is one of a dozen third-year students from the Kerikeri campus tasked with creating a "site-specific" exhibition.
Her intention was to make people think and put them out of their comfort zone.
"It's been interesting watching the men. There's been a huddle of people outside the loo all morning, and there's a bit of angst going on."
She expected complaints about the inconvenience in the convenience, but all the feedback had been positive - even if one woman thought she was "a little loopy".
Mrs Stevens said she had been making scrolls all year, so a toilet was the obvious place for a site-specific exhibition.
Tutor Richard Parker said the point of the assignment was to break out of the standard way of thinking about art exhibitions.
"Galleries come with all sorts of understandings, and they aren't always conducive to a wide audience. This also helps the students realise there's a wide world out there, and their work can be anywhere in it."
Other students are holding exhibitions between now and July 1 in a paddock, at a historic battlefield, on YouTube, in a derelict homestead and even under a bed.
Another site-specific exhibition is being held in the counsellor's waiting rooms at 6 Homestead Rd, Kerikeri, from 9am this coming Monday to 5pm on Tuesday. Called Good Thoughts and Best Wishes it consists of nine paintings by Joanne Gardner.
