Denis O’Connor, The Last Post Office, 2022
Wood, corrugated iron, printed corflute. Approx. 2700 x 4400 x 2700mm
Over fifty years of artmaking and publishing – including material excursions through clay, limestone, slate, found objects; and writing for art magazines and books – Denis O’Connor’s commitment to language is unwavering. From collaborations with our finest poets to cross-genre installation projects and documentary filmmaking – in all of these artefacts, O’Connor sees woven vernacular histories of place and people, theatrical testimonies of lives and the relationships that animate them.
The Last Post Office revives Waiheke’s written history in a large-scale, architectural facsimile of the island’s post offices. Many of the names on the post boxes are those of singular characters from the island, while others reference local in-jokes and folklore. Brought together for this installation, O’Connor offers a homage to Waiheke’s rich social history and the written word’s enduring power.
