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Artist's Statement

Better Work Stories (He Patu! Ano) (2007)
Emil McAvoy
Cast aluminium, enamel

The specially-formed Red and Blue Squads were the first New Zealand police issued with the PR24 Control Baton during the 1981 Springbok Tour. The baton, also known as the riot baton or long baton, represented a technological leap in policing, perhaps akin to the introduction of the Taser in recent times. Through the course of the 1981 tour, the long baton gained infamy as a symbol of state power through its use in violent clashes with anti-apartheid protestors.

In 2005, the used baton of Ross Meurant (Red Squad second-in-command during the Springbok Tour police action) went up for sale on Trade Me. The baton, which Meurant wielded throughout the tour, was dubbed the "Minto Bar" after John Minto, a senior leader in the anti-tour protest movement. Meurant and several of his Red Squad colleagues had imported aluminium models from the United States at their own expense. On Trade Me, the sales photo of the “Minto Bar” was displayed in a sexualised manner, on a white sheet lying across a single red rose. A highly charged public response to the sale (notably on the site itself) demonstrated that the events surrounding the 1981 tour remained fresh in the people's memory.

One group, the BlackMask Collective were so outraged that the sale was allowed to proceed that they went as far as to create MintoBar 2.0, a software hack designed to cause problems for the Trade Me site. Meurant's “Minto Bar” went on to sell to a South African collector for $(NZ)20,000.

Similarly, the recent police rape trials have brought other historic events to public attention, and sadly the long baton has reappeared as a physical and symbolic aid in the alleged abuse of power.

Viewers of Better Work Stories (He Patu! Ano) may bring to mind even more recent events where others have suffered through an abuse of power in cases of domestic violence. These acts did not inspire the creation of the artwork. Nevertheless, they belong to the territory of shame that the work points to. It is a shame we all share and a problem we all face. Better Work Stories (He Patu! Ano) may be seen as an embodiment of the way in which violence, sexual violence and the violation of the less-powerful linger as a pernicious blight in our country. These events have touched us all, and we share the future to be crafted in their wake.

There is also an online component to this work's story. An edition of Better Work Stories (He Patu! Ano) is available for sale on www.trademe.co.nz from 6pm Saturday 10th August. The proceeds from this sale will be donated to charity, and bidders on the site will have an opportunity to nominate appropriate charities.

The artist is also offering a free catalogue to accompany the artwork with essays by John Minto and Emma Bugden. The catalogue may be downloaded in PDF form from www.emilmcavoy.com

Better Work Stories (He Patu! Ano) will be premiered at the Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award 2007, in Hamilton on Friday 10 August. The exhibition runs 11/08/2007 - 11/11/2007.

Emil McAvoy Biography

Emil McAvoy is an interdisciplinary artist based in Wellington. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Auckland University of Technology in 2002, he has become known primarily for his real-time video performances. These feature live manipulation of video signals in collboration with sonic artist Frey. Performance highlights include participating in Intimacy and In.yer.face (online performance/installation event, Litmus Research Initiative), Interdigitate (MIC Toi Rerehiko), Soundtracks (New Zealand Film Archive Mediaplex), and Prospect 2004: New Art New Zealand (with artists Eugene Hansen, Jenny Gillam and Kaleb Bennett).

McAvoy has also worked in video installation, experimental film, photography and painting. He is a video digitisation specialist for the New Zealand Film Archive, and a visual arts educator at the Wellington Institute of Technology.