Why was the NZ government playing 1930s experimental cinema in the Indian desert?
The Spinoff Daily, Friday March 22
Ahiahi mārie, welcome to The Spinoff Daily.
Today on The Spinoff: Invercargill’s mayor is unfortunately at it again. Plus: not-vegan ice cream and abominable hot cross buns.
“I wandered down a corridor that diverted from the main path and through a small door that looked like it had been left open by accident.
Inside was a big, sunken room filled with large pots: cracked, torn and soft, like someone forgot to fire the clay. I later found out they were made of ancient camel leather. Ceiling fans whirled air down into the pots’ open mouths.
In the corner of the room was a projector, sitting on a narrow stone shelf and held in place by a wooden plank. On a small screen a blur of colours and shapes played. Occasionally, a cigarette would flash on screen. A pair of tinny computer speakers blasted out a Cuban rumba.
A ripped sheet of A4 near the door told me it was an art exhibition. An avant-garde 1930s cigarette commercial, playing on a 24/7 video loop, funded by the New Zealand government.
Wait, what?”
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