Festival sculptor transforms earth into art

By CATHRIN SCHAER

You would think that covering your car in clay would be a foolproof way to avoid getting a parking ticket. But you'd be wrong.

Sitting on High St, the unusual work of Auckland sculptor John Radford has been attracting a lot of interest from passersby.

And some not-so-welcome attention from one Auckland City Council parking warden.

She finds she cannot give the clay car a ticket - it has an exemption because it's an art work, part of AK03, Auckland's arts festival.

But Radford's own car, parked nearby and not covered in clay, is in danger of a $40 fine. He's forced to leave his art and move it.

When he returns, Radford explains what he's been doing for Transplastic Projects, an undertaking for AK03 that involves covering large objects in the central city with a thin layer of clay.

"It gives the impression the objects have been swapped with handmade clay copies. And it's the best thing," Radford says, watching people's confusion as they look at the car.

"They do a kind of double-take as they walk past. A lot of them stick their finger in [the clay] to reassure themselves they're not dreaming."

But it's not just about taunting the central-city shoppers - there are deeper issues to this public demonstration of imagination.

"Cars and buildings cover the earth," explains Radford, probably best known around town for the Tip sculptures in Ponsonby's Western Park.

"And this is like the earth rising back up to cover them."

Yesterday's vehicular victim was a 1958 Austin A95 Radford had borrowed from a car club.

"I wanted them to be retro shapes because I want them to look a little bit like ghosts in the middle of the city," he says.

In a further twist, the sculptures also mutate over time as the clay, freighted up from Nelson, dries out and cracks, falling off the objects in large chunks.

"This," Radford enthuses as he picks large chunks of dried clay up off High St, "is the climactic moment".

Eventually the Austin will be dry enough to drive away, at which stage it will be cleaned up and returned to its owner. But over the next week and a half of the festival amused passersby will see similarly covered classic autos on High, Lorne and Kitchener Sts.

Barring torrential rain, a Vauxhall, a Citroen, a Ford Falcon and even a Vespa scooter are all in line for what Radford calls "transplasticis-ing".

And this coming Friday morning regulars at a Vulcan Lane pub will get a surprise when they find their drinking place has been covered in clay by Radford and a group of volunteers, who will work through Thursday night to get the huge, mucky job done.

Herald Feature: Auckland Festival AK03

Auckland Festival website