Jessica Mio, MTG art curator. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Art installations can be tricky things to get right, but, like cooking from a complex recipe, rewarding when it all comes together well.
The food analogy is particularly fitting for two of the three installation artworks on display at the museum, one of which features a floor covered in rice (Indra's Bow by Tiffany Singh and Jo Blogg) and the other, chocolate fish on the wall that visitors are welcome to take and eat (Koha to Hoha by Israel Tangaroa Birch).
The third artwork was the most recent. Hundreds of ribbons were hung from the pillars of the museum forecourt ahead of the exhibition opening last week. Like the two installations inside the museum, The Colours of Light was challenging to install and needed some tweaking to get it right.
But all three works are more than worth the effort.
The Colours of Light is refreshing in many different ways, most noticeably by bringing vibrant colour and movement to the front of the museum.
Artist Singh tied more than a thousand handmade bells to ribbons, now they emit wonderfully warm, rich tones, a welcome contrast to the usual noise of the roundabout nearby.
But beyond that, it's refreshing in its genuine approach to art that can be appreciated by all. Much of today's art is alienated from the general public, which I think is primarily because, in our consumerist society, most artworks function as luxury commodities; unfortunately creating the illusion that fine art is the domain of the wealthy few.
Then there is the focus in modern times on the conceptual side of art, which often forgets to allow for an intuitive or emotional response.
Artworks are regularly accompanied by text that can give great insight into the intellectual element, but can also give the false impression that art has one true ''meaning'' that a viewer must understand before she or he can appreciate the work.
Singh takes all of that baggage and throws it away. Her artworks are not fixed objects to be bought and sold for mainly private collections, instead she recreates them again and again in different public contexts around New Zealand and internationally for everyone to enjoy.
She has a particular talent for creating work giving a rich sensory experience, expressing joy, peace or a sense of the sacred (or all three) without any need for the viewer to know about the artist or her work, or any other art, for that matter.
And yet, if it does intrigue you and you want to know more, Singh's artworks will reward your curiosity.
In The Colours of Light, for example, there are meanings to be found in the colours of the ribbons, the inclusion of the bells and the significance of placing the artwork outside an entrance way.
Many art students embrace installation and other ephemeral art forms while studying, when their creativity is free (to some extent) from the pressures of commercialism.
Then they leave and find that platforms in which to present their performance, new media, or installation art are rare, and in a culture fixated on the production of things, they must either turn to creating saleable art objects or find work in some other field.
I find this a terrible shame, as ephemeral art is a wonderfully free-spirited mode of expression, unconcerned with commercial appeal or suitability for display in a domestic context. It's great that museums and galleries are places which support these forms of art in accordance with our role as public cultural institutions.
It was a privilege to work with Singh, we've been pleased by the positive response to her art, and we look forward to presenting the work of more artists like her in future.