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A Wyndham artist is taking her talent to the nation’s capital to support the life-saving work of an aeromedical charity.
Multi-disciplinary artist Frankie Bakker has created a bee sculpture for air ambulance and rescue helicopter service Life Flight’s Bee, as part of the City Public Art Trail in central Wellington this month.
The Wellington-based charity provides nationwide care and transportation via Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Air Ambulance Planes.
It has supported tens of thousands of people in crisis since it was founded in 1982.
Bakker said charity and art went hand in hand.
“There’s something there that is just so beautiful to have . . . artists be able to shine some sort of worth on to these things.
“It’s something that just makes sense and it’s . . . the reason you live, to do that.”
For the eight-week display, 30 large and 20 small bee sculptures will be dotted around Wellington’s waterfront and CBD, in two weeks’ time,and auctioned off at the end of November.
Her sculpture, Salad Bowl, was inspired by the idea of the insects tossing a fruit salad by picking up pieces of fruit with their legs and dropping them.
It was a play on the idea of bees hanging around when fruit was eaten in the summer.
Bakker, who describes her style as a cross between realism and surrealism, has brightened up the streets of Christchurch painting Chorus fibre cabinets and uses wallpaper as the backdrop for her paintings.
She said art came naturally to her.
“You feel like you’re choking a little bit if you don’t do it.”
The Wellington trail will take place from September 14 to November 8, followed by a farewell weekend on November 21 and 22.
The bees will be auctioned off on November 26.
Bakker said living in the Gore district meant she had plenty of outdoor, open space to let the creative juices run wild.
Her prints have also been on display in Invercargill, Queenstown and Dunedin and she sells greeting cards through the Wyndham Four Square.
For the past two years, Bakker has co-ordinated the annual Night of the Arts event in Invercargill.