A little bit of magic took place at Macandrew Bay Hall last week.
Dunedin-based ceramic artist Zehavit Darlington's two-hour exhibition, Alice: an existential hikoi, will now have been disassembled and more than 200 individual pieces heading to the homes of the many children who were instrumental in their creation.
The exhibition continued the evolution of Darlington's year-long project, a series of figurative ceramic works based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Darlington completed a Mad Hatter as well as some mushrooms and carp for the exhibition last Friday. However, the artist plans to reconfigure aspects of the installation at a later date.
''Some of the works I've produced are coming with me to Christchurch for an art residency at the end of October before they will be placed permanently at the Macandrew Bay Library.''
Darlington is referring to the inaugural Doris Lusk Residency, an award organised between the Dunedin School of Art Foundation and Risingholme Community College in Christchurch, which last year marked its 70th anniversary.
About 200 children (the majority from Macandrew Bay School, about 20 from Grant's Braes School and several from Broad Bay School) produced small-scale ceramic figurines, the interpretations of which varied widely.
''There's quite a difference between what a 5-year-old will do and what a 10-year-old produces,'' Darlington says.
In an example of life imitating art, she had to glue more than a few items back together. Off with their heads, indeed.
''I don't tend to support the kids too much. I just let them do what they want with the materials, which produces quite abstract forms at times.''
Darlington, who spent the second term working between the three schools before focusing on her own pieces in the third term, was surprised how few children had read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, although some did know about Tim Burton's 2010 film, which featured Johnny Depp.
''I wanted to talk about the metaphors of the tale; how you can feel small one minute and then high and mighty.
''It's also about how life throws stuff at you, such as when a child starts a new school or meets a scary individual. We also talked about remaining true to who we are.''
Having graduated from the Dunedin School of Art in 2012, the mother of three is a tutor in ceramics at the Mosgiel Abilities Resource Centre, a position that allows her to combine a passion for art with her interest in teaching.
''I think there's a good balance between teaching and producing art. I teach up to five days a week, when I contract to schools. That helps me grow as an artist.''
Darlington first arrived in new Zealand from Israel in 1999 and has been here, ''on and off'', since.
''Most of my family is still in Israel. I often feel as if I'm in a strange place. But Israel is no longer home, so I often feel disoriented.
''That's why I called this exhibition `Alice: an existential hikoi'.
''I quite often don't know where I am or what's going on. It's definitely been a journey for me.''
