Chronicle Q&A: Richard Aslett on art, music, civic service and the road to Rangitīkei

Richard Aslett (centre) with New Variants members Fred Hammer, Cyn Hammer and Mike Bly.

Chronicle reporter Liz Wylie quizzes visual artist, former Rangitīkei district councillor, and musician Richard Aslett who owns the Yellow Church Gallery in Mangaweka.

Where is your place of origin?

A place called Dewsberry which is near Leeds in the north of England.

What brought you to New Zealand?

I had been travelling the world with my girlfriend and we decided it was a place we’d like to live for a while. We lived in Christchurch where I unsuccessfully applied for work as a graphic artist but was successful in getting a job with Mr Minit. I really enjoyed it and eventually bought a house in Christchurch.

And how did you find your way from there to a church in Mangaweka?

When I returned to New Zealand the tenants in my house weren’t ready to leave. They were good tenants and I decided to spend some time in the North Island.

I was living in Palmerston North and drove through Mangaweka to go and photograph the volcanos. I thought it was a great little town and that the church would make an excellent gallery. Lo and behold I saw on the drive back that it had a for sale sign on it and here I am 17 years later.

You served on the Rangitīkei District Council. What made you put your hand up for that role?

I hadn’t been living in Mangaweka very long when I stood for the community board. I was encouraged to stand and decided it would be a good way to help the community and learn more about local governance.

That experience gave me the confidence to stand for a seat on the council and I served three terms. I didn’t stand in the last election because I decided that I wanted to focus more on other things and four terms was enough.

What inspired you to start the Fakes & Forgeries contest?

I heard about Karl Sim from Mangaweka who was New Zealand’s only convicted art forger and I was intrigued. The idea came about during a fireside conversation with a couple of locals and we made a successful funding application to Creative New Zealand for the first contest, held in 2007.

It’s been held every second year since then. Karl was invited to the openings and came along a couple of times. He was going to come in 2013 but he became ill and died that year. This year is the 10th anniversary of his passing and the date also falls on his birth date this year so it’s pretty special.

You’re also a musician - what are you doing in that sphere at the moment?

I play drums and sing with a band called The New Variants. We vary our repertoire according to the demands of our audiences. We were playing a lot of 70s pop and then we got requests for old rock ‘n’ roll songs so we play those and we’re always open to requests.

Our members live in different parts of the Rangitīkei and we play at Awastone in Mangaweka, the Taihape Musicians Club and a lot of private parties and functions. Our name is also a cheeky reference to strains of the Covid virus.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’m not much of a reader but I quite like the idea of writing a book. I’ve thought about a time travel fantasy novel based in Mangaweka.

What’s your favourite film?

Terminator - the first one. I still enjoy watching it if it’s on and it really doesn’t matter that the special effects look so outdated. That’s part of its charm.

Which real or fictional people, alive or dead, would you like to invite to a dinner party?

Jim Morrison, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso. I’d be very interested to hear what they had to say about the world as it is now.

You have a few strings to your bow but is there a different career path you might have followed?

When I was a kid I thought I would like to study architecture. When I discovered that it would take five years to complete the study, I decided to enrol in graphic arts instead. I have no regrets about that but I’m still very interested in architecture.