Themes: meander vs grid

Water falling, Brownian motion and wai: two rocks and a meander

A waterfall in the Taranaki region, photo by C5 taken as part of a mapping exercise

A waterfall in the Taranaki region, photo by C5 taken as part of a mapping exercise at the first SCANZ

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Brownian motion by Kay Kirkpatrick for students studying probability theory

This photo is taken from a small bridge - too small for art works, but there is a carpark next to it. The banks are quite steep though. This car park has a market on the weekends

This photo is taken from a small bridge – not the same one as we stood on, but the vista is similar

Today I went for a walk with Te Urutahi Waikerepuru, to talk about stuff and at the same time look over the potential sites along the Huatoki river walkway. The walkway passes right through the middle of New Plymouth Nga Motu. There are photos here. It was the third time I’d done this walk – first to get pictures for this site, second with Allan Giddy of UNSW in Sydney who was scouting locations and now with Te Urutahi.

Anyway we were both taken with what was presented to us in terms of following the meander of the stream as opposed to the grid of the streets. This is entirely one of the points of SCANZ: to go to locations where boundaries meet. The boundaries of culture, of discipline and of place.

In the city, what we get is the perspective layout of streets. Tar seal among buildings. The built environment in rows. Lines to ensure we get there in the fastest way between two points: straight.

Compare this to Brownian motion [1], drawn above by Kay Kirkpatrick [2] for students studying probability theory. The blue line is a meander, quite unlike the grid that measures it. We perhaps live in a time where the prominence of the grid should be usurped by eminence of the meander. Not that one or the other is the issue, both are necessary today, but that one or the other has prominence due to the focus placed on it.

The grid and the meander give entirely different readings of place. When the Huatoki is the guide for traversing the town, we encounter the sea where the stream terminates, the grassed public space in front of Puke Ariki museum, then step across the street to the Huatoki plaza, with landscaped landings and muraled buildings. The river stream passes under a block and a half of building and emerges in a park. A transformation has occurred and the town scape vanishes from view. Nature dominates.

Nature continues to dominate until we reach points where humans attempted to dominate nature: two sites where marker rocks in use in pre-European times were dynamited by colonisers. These rocks were big and dynamited to clear the way. Of course, no such thing results, and when we visited today the rock fragments had caught large chunks of debris.

The meandering river then, wanders through from vistas of the sea to contemporary public landscape architecture, hybrid bush environments, rustic pathways, geological references with cultural usage in pre-European and now contemporary times. That is why the river site was chosen as the place for art works.

At the end of our meander, Te Urutahi and I stood on a small bridge gazing down on the river. Little waves of river energy were gathering around resistant rocks, forming continuously variable pathways of flow, dancing here, dancing there. We talked about placing projectors above and below, about a friend of hers capturing eight kinds of river audio. Framed by large native tree ferns and the branches of introduced trees we watched the bubbles formed by the Huatoki’s flow. Much like Brownian motion with constraints. She took dibs on this spot.

We have been there before, many times in many guises – from the C5 experience of Taranaki at SCANZ 2006, to Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru talking about Wai at SCANZ:Eco sapiens, the connection of water in many of the works shown as part of Uncontainable Second Nature Te Kore Rongo Hungaora in Istanbul, Wai at ISEA 2012 Albuquerque and in 3rd nature at SCANZ 2013. Being located in public space on the site of wai – water – will make quite a difference in 2015.

 Notes

1. Brownian motion captures the free action of molecules bumping around in an apparently random way. Historically it was important to the confirmation of the existence of atoms, and interest was revived with Chaos Theory involving studying randomness. It should be said that turbulent flow and Brownian motion are quite different things, I only mean here the dancing random action of the variable bubble paths of the stream recalled random processes. The contrast to the grid is also a subject of this article.

2. Kay Kirkpatrick image source: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~kkirkpat/562.html

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Huatoki walkway: history unveiled

It is interesting that following a river cuts across the urban city landscape and the corresponding histories of place. Nature and heritage are often obscured when the experience of place is  dominated by being in buildings, and walking, taking a bus or driving the streets. To follow a river is to connect them all.

This is across the street from the car parks and the entrance to the Huatoki walkway proper

This is across the street from the car parks and the entrance to the Huatoki walkway proper

This is the under pass to which the sign is adjacent

This is the under pass to which the sign is adjacent

 

The track is quite wide at points, with the banks off to the left. Once again looking upstream

The track is quite wide at points, with the banks off to the left. Once again looking upstream

 

This looks like a collection of boulders, but once was a large marker rock used by local iwi (tribes). It was dynamited in the colonial era

This looks like a collection of boulders, but once was a large marker rock used by local iwi (tribes). It was dynamited in the colonial era

 

On the opposite bank of the river are the footings of an old water powered flour mill

On the opposite bank of the river are the footings of an old water powered flour mill

 

Another pile of boulders, another dynamited marker rock

Another pile of boulders, another dynamited marker rock

 

The area of the stream bank around the second rock

The area of the stream bank around the second rock

 

Looking back downstream toward the area of the second rock

Looking back downstream toward the area of the second rock

 

Grinding stones from the several mills that once were located here

Grinding stones from the several mills that once were located here

 

The view looking upward toward the end of the town centre part of the walkway. If needed further sites are located beyond

The view looking upward toward the end of the town centre part of the walkway. If needed further sites are located beyond

 

Signpost marking the end of this passage of the walkway

Signpost marking the end of this passage of the walkway

 

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Journey of a river/stream walkway: the Huatoki

The Huatoki runs under the main street of New Plymouth, then emerges in a mix of rustic walkway with hybrid plants and trees.

This small park is the continuation of the walkway, heading upstream

This small park is the continuation of the walkway, heading upstream

 

Looking downstream, back toward the main street of New Plymouth. The two trees on the left are marked historic by the Council and must be preserved.

Looking downstream, back toward the main street of New Plymouth. The two trees on the left are marked historic by the Council and must be preserved.

 

This small area above the banks of the previous photo could be a site for a work or perhaps one of the stop points on the walking symposium

This small area above the banks of the previous photo could be a site for a work or perhaps one of the stop points on the walking symposium

 

This photo is taken from a small bridge - too small for art works, but there is a car park next to it. The banks are quite steep though. This car park has a market on the weekends

This photo is taken from a small bridge – too small for art works, but there is a car park next to it (next photo). The banks are quite steep though. This car park has a market on the weekends

 

The car park on the left bank looking down stream. There is a car park on the right as well

The car park on the left bank looking down stream. There is a car park on the right as well

 

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Huatoki River walkway – SCANZ 2015:water*peace art work sites

This next set of photos connects from the landing outside Puke Ariki, across the road to the Huatoki Plaza.

On the bridge looking up stream, with the 30-60cm drop creating rapids.

On the bridge looking up stream, with the 30-60cm drop creating rapids.

 

Looking into the Plaza, beyond the pedestrian walk bridge

Looking into the Plaza, beyond the pedestrian walk bridge

 

The lower part of the Plaza forms a natural amphitheater. At this point the Huatoki disappears under one and a half blocks of buildings

The lower part of the Plaza forms a natural amphitheater. At this point the Huatoki disappears under one and a half blocks of building

 

To the left of the amphitheater, showing some of the building murals by local artists

To the left of the amphitheater, showing some of the building murals by local artists

 

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