Britain starts the Brexit club
Philip Matthews thinks about art, Europe and memory loss.
Consider this a divorce
British Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter and then it was all over. ‘‘The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union,’’ May told the British Parliament nine months after the surprisingly close vote – few other than Donald Trump claim to have expected the result. ‘‘This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back,’’ May said, possibly sounding more ominous than she had intended. Britain joined the European Union club in what seems like a pre-modern age, the year 1973. Now it has started the Brexit club, dubbed one of the most significant steps taken by a British leader since World War II. Great moments in leadership, from ‘‘we shall fight them on the beaches’’ to ‘‘go home, Johnny Foreigner’’.
Earthquake damage
Not damage to buildings, or to roads or pipes, but damage to people. Research from Otago University’s Christchurch campus confirmed what many already knew anecdotally: living through a major natural disaster plays havoc with memory and cognitive functioning. For example, head of psychological medicine Professor Richard Porter found that a quakeaffected group made 13 per cent more errors while learning their way through a virtual maze than those who were unaffected. Porter added that, ’’For people who didn’t live in Christchurch and were looking at workplace performances or someone’s memory, they should take these findings into account. The same is valid for partners of affected people, they need to be sensitive to the fact people may not be quite as sharp.’’
No joy on Division Street
Christchurch can seem like a bleak city, especially as another winter approaches. Parts of the city are poorly maintained and the Christchurch City Council needs to sort it out, councillor Yani Johanson said. This follows stories about struggles in Woolston, on the east side of town. In crime news, a 23-year-old man was found guilty of murdering a toddler in a house in Bryndwr, a man was arrested after a ‘‘gang-related’’ shooting in Hornby, three were charged with murder after a man found in a car park in Sumner died in hospital and an aggravated robbery of a bar in Cashmere may signal what police call a ‘‘serious spike in crime’’. And then there is the notorious Division St in Riccarton, where at least one retailer has quit after having enough of local youths tagging, spitting and swearing.
The consolations of art
When reality sucks, check out some art. This present columnist is no big city art critic but even an amateur can tell that there is some tremendous contemporary art happening in Christchurch right now. The absurdist black humour of British artist David Shrigley is presented by the Centre of Contemporary Art (Coca) on Gloucester St; we love his hilarious, scrappy, nihilistic drawings but are even bigger fans of his art-creating robot, The Artist. The Christchurch Art Gallery next door is hosting London-based former Cantabrian Francis Upritchard whose uncanny sculptural work ranges from op-shop animistic salvagepunk – which may not be a real genre – to bad hippy art done well. Shrigley is part of a movement but Upritchard is unique. You should see both.