Sonja van Kerkhoff has an unconventional art exhibition showing at The Shutter Room in Whangārei.
Sonja van Kerkhoff has an unconventional art exhibition showing at The Shutter Room in Whangārei.
A Northland artist with a long-standing rift against her neighbour is taking her plight into art galleries and public spaces in a bid to get action taken by local councils.
Sonja van Kerkhoff, who is based in Kawakawa, said 138 cubic metres of dirt and rubble was dumped on her land in 2022 during work to landscape and upgrade the neighbouring property.
After numerous complaints to the Far North District Council (FNDC) and Northland Regional Council (NRC), there had been “zero action”, so van Kerkhoff started removing the rubble and declaring it art.
The “land art” exhibition is on show at The Shutter Room in Whangārei throughout April and includes photo-montages, sculpture and paintings.
The floor sculpture, called ‘Tomato Soup’, consists of rubble dumped into the corner and bagged into porridge bags.
Van Kerkhoff said it is “a play on minimalist art and land art and is absurd”.
“I’m doing it as a way to show how absurd it is that a neighbour can trespass on another neighbour’s land and pollute it and the council does nothing.”
Last June van Kerkhoff dumped 40kg of rubble onto the floor of the same gallery around a Rimu stump calling it ‘The Rimu Makes a Stand’.
She has also used it in two performance works including one in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter in December last year.
In January, 40kg of dirt was placed in the display window of Kerikeri’s Procter library.
“There’s tonnes of the stuff so unless either council takes some action, I have no problem with supply,” she said.
The neighbour said he offered to clean up any dirt spilled onto van Kerkhoff’s boundary at the beginning of the landscaping work but the situation escalated.
He said he had “no thoughts” on the exhibition “as I’m no artist”.
“I’m sad she and I couldn’t have resolved all the issues long ago before all of stress, anger and tens of thousands of dollars in professionals of all kinds were brought in.
“But that’s all wishful thinking now.”
Sonja van Kerkhoff’s 'land art' includes rubble dumped in the Kerikeri Procter Library earlier this year.
FNDC compliance manager Rochelle Deane confirmed “a prolonged period of correspondence” between van Kerkhoff and FNDC began in November 2022.
NRC and FNDC investigated concerns about the work and effects on van Kerkhoff’s adjoining property.
“A small amount of fill ... was found to be encroaching on the complainant’s property and was also found within the adjoining wetland.”
Deane said both councils instructed the property owner to act with erosion and sediment control measures and meet the requirements of a resource consent and earthworks permit.
The activity was later reviewed and received a retrospective resource consent.
The Shutter Room gallery curator Angela Rowe said van Kerkhoff’s work “was more of an unconventional installation than most of the shows we would have.
“Exhibitions like this sometimes can be quite challenging for people who come to the gallery expecting to see photos in frames on walls.
“People can be curious about what it is and what they’re looking at. Some are confused.
“Spending more time with the work you can start to form a picture of Sonja’s experience ... while she deals with this external challenge.”
Deane said the case “demonstrates the need for property owners to check the rules that apply to their property before undertaking major landscaping”.
“We recommend that property owners talk to their neighbours before undertaking large earthworks, construction projects or other works that could impact those who live nearby.”
Van Kerkhoff will give an artist talk - ‘the art of community’ - in the gallery on April 25 at 5pm.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.
