By The 3 Moons of Xenon
1 April – 18 April 2017
Art by the Sea Gallery, Devonport, Auckland, NZ
When I was a boy, I always had an active imagination. That’s probably why the Daleks scared me so much, and I always had to hide behind the chair when we watched Dr Who. Since then, the early age of sci-fi has fascinated me. It was a big part of my childhood, and this constant exposure to them led me to love them as my own. Star-Trek, Lost in Space, Blake’s Seven, Logan’s Run, Space 1999, The Man From Atlantis, The Six Million Dollar Man. Not to mention Star Wars. I love sci-fi, but I prefer the mystery and adventure more than any fancy visual effects. The effects these days often spoil a good movie. Not just by overriding the story but by overriding the ability of the characters to be fallible humans. I don’t think it’s as much fun watching heroes dodge bullets and scale walls just because the effects team can pull it off. So, then I set out to make my own movie. One that lives in a place where all the good things of sci-fi still exist, something true to the art. Old school, and a comedy. Set in the parameters of an old sci-fi universe where everything works like an old sci-fi movie. Low budget special effects, low budget monsters – but a whole lot of fun. That was This Giant Papier Mache Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy. That’s how I got there… on a shoestring, using the lack of budget as part of the desired aesthetic. It helped me create some even cooler things. In fact, really, it was a whole lot of fun.
