For Te Tuhi’s Project Wall, Natalie Guy presents The Window, a new commission which references the architectural details of two notable late International Style buildings: Le Corbusier’s Roman Catholic chapel Notre-Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France (1954), and John Scott and Jim Allen’s Futuna Chapel in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand (1961). Architect John Scott and artist Jim Allen both noted the influence of the Ronchamp chapel in their own design.
The Window utilises the deep-set window wells of the south wall of Ronchamp, which act as light controllers – turning light into space and space into light – and the coloured windows in Futuna which were designed by Allen to form a similar action.
The angle of the sun based on Te Tuhi’s location in April is used to guide a projection overlay and ground this work in its place in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. However, this grounding is at odds with the emphasis upon the placeless iconography of modernism especially apparent in the International Style of architecture. In this way, The Window explores the idea of a collapsing time and reflected modernist influence.
Downloads
→ Natalie Guy: The Window – Family Activity Pack
Press
→ The urban fabric of Sin City – Art News New Zealand, Autumn 2020