November 16, 2023
On a beautiful point overlooking Narrow Neck Beach on Auckland’s north shore, we visited a large sculpture show, raising funds for Women’s Refuge. With over 130 works by 100 artists, it was a spectacular show to visit on a beautiful sunny day. Here are some of the stunning works.
The most powerful and moving installation, by far, was called and then they kissed me, by Turtle Sarten and Bernie Harfleet. It consisted of a number of rooms in an old bunker, each of which contained a devastating statement on domestic violence. According to a sign posted outside the installation, police in New Zealand receive 480 family harm calls each day (that’s one every three minutes). In 2022, police attended 175,573 family harm incidents in New Zealand. On average 14 women are killed each year and a child is killed every 5 weeks.
These pieces of furniture had carved into them common statements made by abusers. When you looked into the mirror you could see the abused victim’s truth.
Each of the medallions in the following photo represented a woman killed in incidents of domestic violence. Each of the kiwis represented a child killed in acts of domestic violence. There were many more not visible in the photo.
Please consider making a donation to Women’s Refuge at womensrefuge.org.nz
Mal and Lauren 