It was an early start here in Venice this morning for the blessing of Michael Parekowhai's Venice Biennale exhibition On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer. For those patrons who thought they had seen it all Michael had a surprise in store. He Korero Purakau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu: Story of a New Zealand River, the intricately carved grand piano, now stood centre stage in vibrant red inside the Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore. I can only imagine what it is like for Michael Parekowhai to see the culmination of years of work finally installed in Venice. New Zealand's presence is being noticed by many, the way to the exhibition through cobbled lanes is signposted with some ingenious bright yellow stickers on the ground so we are not quite so dependent on the ever-present maps.
Outside the Palazzo, in a beautiful walled garden, Chapman's Homer, the standing bull, looks so at home I suspect he may want to stay, and, so may I!
Leigh Melville
