Exhibition a trip to the corner dairy
Going to an art exhibition has never looked so sweet, despite it being a little controversial.
Simon Lewis Wards’ first solo exhibition Sugar Rush opened at New Plymouth’s Kina Art Space yesterday, inspired by every child’s dream trip to the corner dairy for lollies.
‘‘This is next level candy,’’ he said. And for the first and last time the public will be able to get their hands on his limited edition replica of a Whittaker’s fruity toffee K Bar, which faced backlash from the candy company in January. ‘‘There were ruffled feathers,’’ he said.
Whittaker’s has made K Bars since the 1950s and wrote a letter to Ward saying the prints of the iconic wrapper were a breach of the Fair Trading Act.
‘‘With the K Bar the first idea was to make the actual bars out of glass,’’ he said. ‘‘But during the process of making them I made a screen printed wrapper,’’ he said, which ultimately caused the issue.
He sought advice from a lawyer before creating the prints last year, and came to an agreement with Whittaker’s to no longer make the iconic K Bar into art.
‘‘I’m not competing with them, it’s the opposite really,’’ he said.
The limited-edition series includes 20 works in each of the six K Bar flavours: raspberry, lime, orange, lemon, blackberry and pineapple.
‘‘The wrapper is kind of the hero of the piece. The glass is cool but the wrapper of the K Bar is what you tap in to.
‘‘There are certain little triggers that take you back to being a kid and for the K Bars it’s the screen printing and the design of the wrapper.’’
He is well-known for his Kiwiana art, including glass jet planes, and he thrived off creating the lollies as it brought a lot of nostalgia.
‘‘I liked that feeling,’’ he said. The exhibition, which runs until May 11, also features Pascall Milk Bottles, Milk Shake wrappers, icy poles, and an iconic 50c lolly bag hanging from the ceiling.
It even features a floor mat that resembles an underground fire hydrant on a footpath.
‘‘We’re channelling the free hit on the way to the dairy,’’ he laughed.
He said it felt right to showcase his pieces in New Plymouth, as his father is from Ha¯wera and Len Lye is his favourite artist.
‘‘It’s nice doing it in the same vicinity as the gallery up here.’’
He said it felt right to showcase his pieces in New Plymouth, as his father is from Ha¯wera and Len Lye is his favourite artist.