Splore a festival of interaction

By NIGEL GEARING

Direct from San Francisco, Aaron Wolf Baum, aka Dr Friendly, PhD in applied physics at Stamford University, emerges from a forest of manmade props, palms and giant Dalek-like tents.

He is here to reveal his installation called Boing! and a philosophy that guides a festival called Splore.

Splore, which began as an underground rave six years ago, has matured to an outdoor interactive art gallery and music event.

The setting for advance preparations is the former Corbans Estate Winery in Henderson. Dr Friendly is putting the final touches to his interactive installation, in which participants sit on a bouncing ball connected to a computer, modular synthesiser and digital converter.

How you bounce dictates the musical rhythm, which changes automatically every minute. Participants' voices will be recorded and added to the mix.

Upstairs, organisers Amanda Wright and Alan Green plan the event, bringing some of New Zealand's finest DJs and VJs, live music acts, visual artists and performers to the park, which will be home to 3000 ticket-holders for a weekend.

Wright met Dr Friendly in 1998 in the desert three hours northwest of Las Vegas.

The setting was the Burning Man Festival, where 30,000 people gathered to, in Dr Friendly's words, "express radical self-expression, radical inclusiveness and radical self-reliance".

Intrigued by the concept, Wright and a group of friends arrived with their Kiwi Zorb, a huge transparent ball in which you can hurl yourself down hills.

They set up camp next to Dr Friendly and became a welcome addition to his installation, The Futura Deluxe, a 6m bubble fountain.

Wright liked what she saw and produced the first Splore on New Year's Eve 1998, which she admits was basically an underground rave at Karioitahi Beach on Auckland's west coast.

Six years on, she is happy with the way the event has evolved.

"The setting was too hard on equipment, so we have moved from the male world of the west coast to the softer world of the forest," she says.

"It is now an inclusive event families can attend. It is an art trail set among beautiful bush, where participants create the gallery and where some of the best local music can be heard."

Sculpture by Fatu Feu'u, Andrew de Boer and Neil Miller and a light installation by Ashley Turner and Peter Stoneham will form part of the art trail.

VJs Lotech, Al Hunter and Samsara will show their work.

The Lightening Rider will perform, along with kapa haka group Kahurangi, drummers AK Samba, comedian Jan Maree and opera singer Zan McKendree-Wright.

Auckland artists Dan Blanshard and Tiffany de Castro will return this year after introducing their installation Yarning, with fellow artist Miranda Brown, to Splore 02 participants.

"I don't want to spell it out to retain the mystical element of the work, but Yarning is a celebration of the environment that is already there," de Castro says.

With her work called Korowai, 1500 people collectively built an artspace at the Aotea Centre during the AK03 Festival last year. The concept is similar at Splore.

"Festival-goers can collectively build the artwork using the materials provided."

Dr Friendly finally made it here after Wright talked him into bringing Boing!, first featured at Burning Man last year, to AK03 and Splore. "That festival has grown hugely over the past decade," he says.

"So many Americans are cynical because they feel powerless. Research has shown that 25 per cent of those who attend quit their jobs afterwards. That's the effect of living in a commercial-free environment in the middle of nowhere for a week.

"Burning Man is a world created entirely by self-expression and participation, a meta-Woodstock for those seeking a joyful alternative to capitalist exploitation and conformism."

There are key differences between the two festivals. Splore is not completely commercial-free. Festival-goers can buy coffee, and there's a bar.

Another difference is Burning Man artists are not paid, while some of the artists at Splore are. And using a regional park means tickets are limited to 3000.

"In older societies, festivals that are still held today provide rituals to foster cultural identity and build community," de Castro says.

"We need more events like this. They provide a healing environment. Celebrating diversity through creativity is the way to do it."

Performance

* What: Splore 2004

* Where and when: Waharau Regional Park, Franklin District, March 5-7