New Plymouth's popular foreshore will again feature as the ideal location to exhibit art works. 

Noboru Tsubaki, the Gallery's latest international artist in residence, will present Radikal Carbon, a major installation project as part of Mediarena: contemporary art from Japan opening at the Gallery on March 13. The installation, in place for one week, will consist of numerous kilns that convert bamboo into charcoal – a multiple-use, environmentally safe and cheap energy source suitable for use in developing countries. 

"Using this fantastic location creates a link between two popular New Plymouth icons – the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the foreshore walkway. Noboru Tsubaki's project gives New Plymouth another way to celebrate the use of the walkway and attract visitors to the region," said Gallery Director Greg Burke. 

"The combined support of Parkscape and the Gallery allows the Council to bring exciting and interesting projects to the New Plymouth community. It's also fortuitous timing as the ground we are using for the kilns is due to be re-turfed later in March," said Parkscape Services Manager Chris Connolly.

The collaboration of the Council's Parkscape Services and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery follows the highly successful Stone Symposium which drew huge crowds this summer, said Mr Connolly.  

The project, to be launched with a community event on March 8, Taranaki's Anniversary Day, will give volunteers from the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, the Friends of the Gallery and other community groups the opportunity to be involved with a major art event. This day will involve preparing the site, construction of the kilns and chimneys to be put into the ground, and testing the charcoal process. A programme of the day's activities will be advertised.

The project will be officially activated on Sunday 14 March from 11am to 4pm with the lighting of the installation's chimneys throughout the day with the help of the participants and public. Noboru Tsubaki will give a special talk about his project on site at 3.30pm.

The residency programme, which brings one national and one international artist to New Plymouth each year, is a partnership between WITT and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, and is supported by Creative New Zealand. Tsubaki, whose past works have included a giant inflatable grasshopper for the 2001 Yokohama Triennale, is the first Japanese artist to undertake the residency. 

The activation of the kilns is part of many opening weekend events, including talks, tours and outdoor performances, associated with Mediarena: contemporary art from Japan, the largest exhibition of contemporary Japanese art ever to be held in New Zealand.  Representatives of the New Zealand Government and Embassy of Japan will attend the opening ceremonies.