Mark Amery
Kedron Parker has a new set of large poster works at the underpass at Inanga Love Park, Korokoro Stream, Petone.
I had a transformative experience once atop Maungawhau, Mount Eden, Auckland’s highest volcano. It was with kaumātua and historian Pita Turei. I’d been up there many times before. Yet, this time it was as if the surrounding landscape had been lit up. Where I used to simply trace the streets of the city I grew up in, through Pita’s storytelling different precious, productive and sacred areas came alive. Well employed, the arts can speak to the complexity of things in our city that are harder to see, and encourage us to take better care of our environment and each other. I’ve been in Wellington 24 years. It’s still not home but there are cultural touchstones that help me feel grounded in the city. They connect to things otherwise hidden, and they often draw us to water: artworks connected to a network of streams.