Milestone exhibition for Palmy Rocks
Rocking up to its first birthday, Palmy Rocks is celebrating with a special photo exhibition.
The Palmy Rocks: We Are One exhibition is to feature the more than 18,000 pictures posted to the Facebook page over the past 12 months.
The nationwide craze where people decorate, hide and hunt painted rocks started modestly in Palmerston North on August 14, 2016, with six friends and a Facebook page. Heather Knox and Kate Parlane had been inspired by an article about the Kitsap Rocks group in the United States.
‘‘During the [September] school holidays, the idea really took off,’’ Parlane said. ‘‘People just started sharing photos of their rocks on the page. It was organic, spontaneous. We never asked them to.’’
It really had been a case of throwing a small painted rock into a still pond and watching the ripples spread. There are now 7500 members of the rock group, and their photos will be on display for two weeks from August 13 in the boutique Us.studio gallery on Palmerston North’s Cuba St.
‘‘Eighteen-thousand photos – it’s pretty exciting. You’re invited to come along and spot your rock,’’ Parlane said.
‘‘When you look at all the pictures, you realise just how many people are doing them,’’ Knox said. ‘‘The grass-roots level impact of something as simple as painting and hiding rocks has been amazing.’’
Among the personalities caught on camera with Palmy Rocks have been television stars Jono and Ben, Olympian Valerie Adams, Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith, and Jordan Watson of How To Dad.
Palmy Rocks has spawned more than 60 other groups around the country, as well as in Australia and the United Kingdom.
The decorated rocks have found their way across the US, while Knox even had an inquiry about starting a group in Kiev, Ukraine.
‘‘People get different things from it. There’s the community and social side, there’s getting out and exploring city parks with your kids, and the painting creative side.’’
There had also been marketing opportunities for companies offering prizes and rewards to those finding their rocks.
Parlane said there were plans to have a rock swap trading post at the exhibition for anyone who had rocks at home ‘‘collecting dust’’.
The display launches at 2pm on August 13 at Us.studio, 188 Cuba St, and will be open between noon and 2pm daily from August 14 until August 27.