DELUSIONS OF CANUTE
Our city has appeared above the water and the sea looks to avenge this theft.
Delusions of Canute uses construction scrim as its base with the Auckland’s original moana and foreshore stitched over a satellite photo of the 21st century shoreline. Responding to the challenge of ‘ea’ which, translated from te reo, means, variously:
to appear above the water,
to land (like a fish) and
to be satisfied or avenged
the work invites people to consider both man and nature as designers and architects using Auckland’s central city foreshore as their ‘playground’.
Informed by research published in NZ Geomechanics News and reports by Salmond Reed Architects and Clough and Associates, the work invites people to connect with Auckland’s past and present and invites people to ponder the future.
Called Delusions of Canute this works references King Cnut - the Danish invader of England in 1015 who became king in 1016. As a child, I listened to a story about Cnut where the King goes to the seashore to order the waves from the incoming tide to stop. Of course, they don't stop and there are different interpretations around this apocryphal story. Drawing on this memory and more recent learnings from mana whenua Cnut references man as designer and architect and this is juxtaposed with Maori god Tangaroa seeking satisfaction on the land that has appeared above the water.
Inspired by
Kuanjin (Jin) Lee and Dr Liam Wotherspoon, 'Dynamic Characteristics of Auckland Central Business District Reclaimed Zones’. NZ Geomechanics News, Issue 92. December 2016
And also the various stories around King Canute (or Cnut) and the tide - consider this an interpretation with a contemporary twist.
Pre-colonial and colonial placenames have been sourced from the following documents:
Auckland Council, pre 2000, Auckland City Heritage Walks: Auckland's Original Shoreline [Brochure] Tamaki Makarau, New Zealand. Author, unknown.
Salmond Reed Architects, October 2011, Waterfront Auckland: A Heritage Study [PDF] Tamaki Makarau, New Zealand.
Clough and Associates, August 2012, City Rail Link Project: Archaelogical Assessment [PDF] Tamaki Makarau, New Zealand. Authors, Clough, Rod; Judge, Charlotte; Macready, Sarah.
Technical Information:
Originally developed for 'ea Festival' in Auckland, 19 March 2017 and completed for dis-ease - an exhibition of Margaret Lewis’s work at Allpress Caffetteria, 17 March - 5 June 2020.
Stitching on builders scrim
Measurement: 2000mm x 1130mm
Additional Information:
2020 October | included in Changing Lanes // Fort St. The centrepiece of Canute Reclamation, an activation included in Artweek Auckland programming
2020 September | artist led walking tours of Tamaki Makaurau’s original shoreline included in Auckland Heritage Festival.
2020 August | selected as finalist in Wallace Art Awards.
2020 May | included in Auckland Council’s AKL City Tours app downlaodable from Play Store or the App Store.
Work in progress images
A Sneak preview of where the map takes you.
