Inside the Museum Hotel at 110 Wakefield Street, Wellington, the art collection, excellent lighting, and wall finishings are nothing short of enveloping. The theme of the hotel is obviously art, and this has been given additional emphasis by the construction of the Long Gallery. This is like a glazed conservatory, built onto an outside wall, and facing the parking area with all its traffic of arrival and departure. It is a bold piece of architectural placement, something you’d hardly expect in a car park, yet within this enclosure is room for the creative display of art and artifacts.
The Long Gallery’s first exhibition is a collection of creations from past World of Wearable Art shows. In many respects, this collection is a tribute to the effort put in by the WOW exhibitors. It appreciates that the entries don’t necessarily get lost to view after the show has finished. The photo shows the extravagant ‘Montana Duck’ of 1997 by Auckland designer Susan Holmes. This is a work of swooping, feathery panels done in painted silk stretched over thin wooden canes; all connected to huge shoulder constructions made from recycled cane baskets. It is engineering, and costume, and heart-warmingly improbable.
