The Single Object: The internet cable that connects us to the rest of the world

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of objects that surround us in everyday life. Artist Bronwyn Holloway-Smith shares her obsession with the 30,000km long Southern Cross Cable that connects New Zealand to the internet and the rest of the world, and the effect it has had … Read more

The Single Object: The wood planks that hid Polynesian students from the police

Nina Tonga searches for the hidden history of the Dawn Raids at an Auckland high school. I hold Tip Top bread close to my heart. Not because it’s my preferred loaf (not by far) but because it reminds me of my Uncle Neini, one of the first from my family to move to New Zealand … Read more

The back country record cutter putting New Zealand music on plastic

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life.  In a shed at the foothills of the Southern Alps, Peter King has made special lathe cuts of recordings by an eclectic array of musicians. Kiran Dass writes here about her … Read more

The Single Object: the chaise longue and the library

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. In the sixth part of the series Lucy Treep looks at the history and future of a famous chaise longue at the Architecture and Planning Library at the University of Auckland. Walking … Read more

The Single Object: a quest for a set of heroic skis

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. In the fifth part of the series James Dann explores Christchurch’s ties to the heroic age of Antarctic exploration, and embarks on his own journey of discovery in pursuit of a … Read more

Weaving a life: Lakiloko and the functional beauty of Tuvalu art

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. Lakiloko Keakea is the first Tuvaluan artist to have a solo exhibition, now showing at Objectspace, Madeleine Chapman explores the beauty and purpose of Tuvalu art. Like a lot of artists, Lakiloko … Read more

The Single Object: A metric tonne of Chinese-New Zealand history

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of objects that surround us in everyday life. In the third piece in the series Emma Ng examines the once lost Chinese typeface used to print the New Zealand Chinese Growers’ Monthly Journal.  Consider the kiwifruit. The sweet and fuzzy berry has … Read more

The Single Object: the water fountain that measures money

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of objects that surround us in everyday life. In the second piece in the series, Danyl Mclauchlan visits the Reserve Bank to inspect Bill Phillip’s MONIAC. It looks like an artifact from an alternate timeline. MONIAC is about two metres … Read more

The Single Object: a mighty pen

The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. In the first of the series, Madeleine Chapman inspects a pen, and learns about the power of privilege. In 1978, young brown men were being arrested. With unemployment rising and the … Read more