“Ever feel like everyday objects have stories to tell?” Here we are at the Lilo Sculpture. It is inspired by a half-melted pen. Janet Lilo found it in an Avondale laundromat. That is in West Auckland where she lives. This seemingly ordinary object sparked an extraordinary idea.
The Lilo Sculpture invites us to ponder communication. Consider the digital world. It has collapsed time, distance, and space. The pen becomes an ode to our physical selves. It also honors the shifts we have made to stay connected. It represents tiny histories. Imagine the shopping lists it wrote. Think of the big ideas it jotted down. Consider the important phone numbers it recorded. Envision the heartfelt letters to melted lovers. This pen has seen it all.
Janet Lilo’s art often plays with communication. She has translated social media formats. She rendered them analogue. Her past projects used polaroid and printed photos on a mass scale. She transformed digital data into tangible objects. Lilo’s work does not critique the digital world. Instead, she shows how we access public space. We use personal observations and experiences. Different tools mediate this access. These tools include film cameras, smartphones, and of course pens.
You may notice a playful side to Lilo’s installations. She often nods to popular culture. The Lilo Sculpture is located on what was Christchurch Boys High School’s roof. This evokes memories. Think of adolescent experiments with flames. Remember stationery mishaps. Recall words inscribed into desks during youthful folly. Inside the Arts Centre rafters display names and dates. Students and actors from the former Court Theatre left them. These spontaneous gestures now form an archive. They capture interpersonal activity overlooked by formal records. All thanks to the humble biro.
In homage to this iconic instrument, the original melted pen has a special place. It resides in Canterbury Museum. Janet Lilo is a New Zealand artist. She was born in 1982. Her heritage includes Te Rarawa, Samoa, and Niue. She lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her art has been shown globally. You can find it in Asia, Europe, America, and Moana Pacific. In New Zealand, her work has appeared in Auckland Art Gallery and Te Papa Museum. It has also been featured at Christchurch Art Gallery.
Lilo also created ISLOVE. It is a large-scale digital light wall on Quay Street. It provides Auckland with a unique place for public art. The Lightship is 110 meters long and 13 meters high. It wraps around the port’s new car handling building. It includes nearly 8,500 individually programmable LED lights. You can see it from Quay Street, city wharves, local buildings, and the water.
Lilo’s ISLOVE used multicolored block letters. They spread across the seven light panels. An evocative image of rippling waves interspersed them. She created the work during the global pandemic. It was also a time of BLM, social and political upheavals. It also remembers great loss. ISLOVE refocused Auckland’s harbor. It became a place of connection and light.
So, next time you see a pen remember the Lilo Sculpture. It is a reminder that even the simplest tools can tell powerful stories. They connect us to each other and to our shared experiences. It is a story about memories, communication, and connection.