Wanganui Sarjeant Gallery curator and public programmes manager Paul Rayner 
backgrounds the gallery exhibition, Who Am I?

Exhibition shows range of art inspired by belief

According to emeritus professor of religious studies at Victoria University, Lloyd 
Geering, we're experiencing "the most radical period of cultural change the world has 
ever known."
Its roots date back to the 15th century and the humanist, questioning 
spirit of the Renaissance. Then the Age of
Enlightenment of the 18th century ushered in modern-day atheism, while 
science transformed the way we see the universe.
"No-one had ever heard of the evolution of life until 150 years ago " says 
Geering. Does this mean religion is on the
way out? Although recent census figures indicate there's a growing sector 
of the population who aren't religious in the
traditional sense spiritual longings and needs remain.
Last year, in a government-funded New Zealand Values survey three out of 
four correspondents said they believe in
either a personal God or a life force. This is little changed from the 80 
found in a 1989 survey.
The same survey revealed that some religious beliefs are actually gaining 
ground. For example, the number of
Buddhists has more than doubled in the last five years, as have Hindus.
There's also growing evidence that many New Zealanders are involved in New 
Age activities. New Age beliefs are often
free-floating and a mixture of various systems. In this postmodern world 
one can believe in reincarnation, God, the
Tarot, the Earth Mother, and karma, all at once!
Who Am I? is an exhibition of artworks chosen to address issues of 
religious belief, as well as cultural values and
personal identity
It juxtaposes historical material from the Sarjeant Gallery's permanent 
collection with contemporary works on loan
from artists, private collectors and public institutions.
the exhibition took shape it soon became apparent that a wealth of exciting 
and relevant material is being made here
in Wanganui.
So as to take full advantage of this fact most invited local artists are 
represented by at least three works.
These include David Sarich, Joanna Margaret Paul, Michael Hajie, Faith 
McManus, Prakash Patel, Simon Ray,
Rebecca Pilcher, and Peter Ireland.
Alongside the "deep and meaningful" are lighter moments and a few surprises.
For example, a Don Driver is discussed in terms of Buddhist
thought, while a collaborative work by Ruth Watson and Mary
Louise Brown about gender stereotyping sits beside Wayne
Barrar's photograph,  Female Chromosomes.
Elsewhere, Rebecca Pilcher's evocative work, Cleanliness is next to Godliness, 
places bars of white soap in the shape of a cross above a wash basin: while Faith 
McManus suggests that language can be "worn" like clothing in her superb series
of prints exploring vowel sounds in te reo Maori. Victoria current 
professor of religious studies, Paul Morris, thinks that in the future there will be no 
single religion but a plethora  of  spiritualities.
Based on the richly diverse art inspired by belief in Who Am I?, I'd say 
that is what we have already.

Consiracy view is a good read

The Marian Conspiracy, by Graham Phillips. Published by Macmillan. Soft 
cover. RRP: $34.95. Reviewed by Bernard
Whelan.
The cover almost put me off taking this book.
Above the book's name on the cover lightning shatters the purple-robed 
sky behind St Peter's, Rome, and beneath
the name the sub-title reads: "The hidden truth about the Holy Grail, the 
real father of Christ and the tomb of the
Virgin Mary."
I think the label "nutcase" sprung to mind. But no-one else wanted it, I 
wasn't reading anything at the time and my
interest in history and Christianity tempted me.
Despite a slow start, The Marian Conspiracy didn't end up in the bin.
Author Phillips takes the reader through a labyrinth of loosely connected 
history and a story which starts in Rome,
and naturally jumps to the Middle East, but ends up a long way from there.
A couple of thousand years after His death, in an age where everything is 
required to be broken down into irrefutable
fact, we have umpteen books from seemingly well-credentialed authors 
searching for the "real" Jesus.
Phillips is similarly a man for facts, having co-authored The Green Stone 
and The Eye Of Fire, which documented the
discovery of the Meonia Stone hidden after England's gunpowder plot in 
1605, and the Ranton Bell, now in the hands
of the Queen's cousin, Lord Lichfield.
He has also chased King Arthur, Shakespeare, Robin Hood and the Grail, 
and authored the best-seller Act Of God.
Like the thorough researcher he obviously is, Phillips catalogues and 
indexes chronology, references and
bibliography. He even has photographic evidence of his search.
Yet while he present facts, quite well most of the time, Phillips does 
not attempt to reduce Jesus or His mother to
historical detail.
I don't have the academic knowledge nor the time to attest to its 
historical correctness, but its not a bad read for a
wet weekend.

Girl sets out to make history

First Test by Tamora Pierce. Published by Scholastic. RRP: $15.95. 
Reviewed by Nikki Welch aged 11.
This is an adventure story that follows the struggles of a young girl who 
follows her dream to become a knight.
In the 10 years since Royal Decree permitted girls to train as knights, 
Keladry is the first.
Keladry must prove that she is an equal to the other boys who are training
Initially she is not accepted by the boys, especially Joren who sets out 
to make her life difficult. Keladry has to work hard to prove herself but she is not 
about to let anyone or anything stop her from realising her dream.
She must fight immortal monsters from other realms and handle the rough 
and tumble that goes with being a knight.
I enjoyed reading this book as it felt like I was in the story with 
Keladry. I recommend this book mostly for girls aged nine to 12.

Revolutionary days brought to life

The Rose Grower by Pat Barker. Published by Random House NZ Ltd. 300 
pages, paperback. RRP: $24.95.
Reviewed by Laurel Stowell.
There are two really good things about this novel: it's description of 
small town life during the French Revolution and
its surprise ending.
Judging by her notes on sources, the author researched late 1700s France 
carefully. Those were chilling times, when
idealism was warped to the point where a citizen could go to the 
guillotine just for suspected anti-revolutionary
sentiments.
The charged atmosphere then has uncanny echoes with the evolution of 20th 
century communism. It's enough to put
you off any kind of excess.
There are three annoying things about the book too. One is its cover of 
stilted
chocolate-box roses. Another is the opening, where a young and of course 
handsome American falls out of the sky in
a balloon accident and then as he regains consciousness, he falls into love with a
beautiful Frenchwoman. 
There is a love story in this novel, but it is not his. It's progress is 
more erratic and unexpected and its characters
less glossy and superficial.
The third and most serious failing is a choppy abruptness in moving 
between the characters. Most of the many sections are less than six pages long and the 
story does not flow smoothly.
The action does flow though, in a certain direction. All the daily effort and bustle are 
gliding with deadly inevitability toward a shattering - and effective - ending.

Insight into the world of Murder

A Case Of Murder by Tony Williams.  Published by Hodder Moa Beckett. 24.5 
pages. RRP: $24.95. Reviewed by
Daniel Jackson
Many polite conversations in pleasant surroundings turn to talk of murder. 
Think back to the number of times friends
have been talking about a death in the news and they - perfectly normal 
people with homes, families and friends -
start to casually chat about how they would have done this or that if they 
were the killer.
The act of murder is repugnant to most and yet holds a sick fascination for 
us all.
Author Tony Williams has tapped into this fascination and has revisited 15 
stories of murder, death and suspicious
disappearances from the past 60 years in New Zealand.
While reading this book I became increasingly uncomfortable.
Some of the stories were old and I had little knowledge of them, but some 
of the stories - ones from the past decade
or so - brought back familiar names and faces from the news.
It says a lot about society that many of the victims were women in 
downtrodden or abusive situations and whose
partners, friends, or relatives killed them in fits of rage. Other victims 
ranged from complete innocents to people who
had business or
other dealings with their murderers.
The victims' stories, which were just brief snapshots into their lives, 
gave them a reality and humanity which watching
the news had never done.
On the other side, of things, the killers became less than human. Their 
callousness and stupidity marks them out as
something different from the rest of us.
While most people may think about murder they know, deep within, that it is 
wrong.
The killers profiled in the book don't seem to have that safeguard or, if 
they do, it slipped for one horrible moment.
As for the book, I'm not sure if I liked Williams' writing style as sometimes he slipped 
a bit easily from factual accounts into conjecture.
Also, I would not suggest it is good bedtime reading or suitable for 
impressionable people with active imaginations as
some of the descriptions of the victims' deaths are quite graphic and can 
leave you with a feeling of horror.
However, A Case of Murder does give a partial insight into a part of New 
Zealand which few of use will ever visit and it
proves, that even though we are a small and think of ourselves as a 
friendly country, we kid ourselves if we think that makes us safe.

Women share their nightmares

Beating Our Breasts compiled by Margaret Clark. Published by Cape Catley 
Ltd. Reviewed by Ada Hill.
Life is full of ironies and the latest one for me was the day this book 
came across my desk for review.
It was the day before my mother was due to go into hospital for a radical 
bilateral mastectomy.
Political scientist and author Margaret Clark, who herself has had breast 
cancer, compiled the book because she felt
there should be a book by New Zealand women for New Zealand women on their 
experiences.
Professor Clark's story is one of the 20 contained in the book which I 
found excellent in that it made one realise they
were not alone and the information was not just second hand.
However, I found as the daughter of a woman diagnosed with breast cancer, 
the book did not go into enough depth for me.
I would like to know how the daughters of the women and even their partners 
or spouses felt and how they handled the news.
My mother has now read the book and while she also felt it was good to 
learn how other women handled it she too
would have like more on how the offspring and husbands or partners felt.
The other criticism she had was that she felt most of the women came from 
the higher socio-economic background and was not a good cross section, although it 
does cover a wide variety of ages.
An easy book to read and for any woman receiving the news she has breast cancer a 
must as it is full of hope, courage and lets them know they are not on their own.

Gripping tale for people who don't even like horses

Horse Heaven. by Jane Smiley. Published by Penguin. RRP: $29.95. Reviewed 
by Fliss Newton.
You'd have to love horses to love this book. I don't. In fact, I hate anything to do with 
horses and racing, I've never been to the track, never had horse riding fantasies, never 
a little girl feeding carrot to the horse in the paddock next door!
I was determined not to like this book, yet bits of it kept creeping under my skin; like 
Elaine, the Jack Russell that has been trained not to bark but leaves turds on the real 
Persian carpets; and Al Maybrick, the horse owner who doesn't have a sleep disorder, 
just a horse obsession which keeps him awake at night; and Tiffany who wishes when 
her purse was stolen at the Laundromat that the thief had taken the washing too 
because now she has a soaking wet load and no coins!
Jane Smiley's style captures her characters with a concise flick of the quill. Each 
significant Person is introduced in a chapter of their own and their isms highlighted 
almost immediately; Rosalind who loves her dog, Elaine, more than her husband and 
doesn't mind that she isn't really attracted to hubby; he's got money and he asks 
directly for what fie wants. That suits her until she meets Dick.
Tiffany measures positive experiences by the hour rather than by the day or week, 
grateful for even the smallest
moment of pleasure in her topsy turvy life. Buddy Crawford, tough and rude, 
authoritarian,
recently converted to Jesus the ultimate director, whom he finds a much 
harder taskmaster than the horse owners for
whom he works. Deirdre Donohue has learned she's too loud, too opinionated, 
not pretty, without charm, too liberal
and lacking in a sense of humour. She is often silent, annoyed and hates to 
reveal her softer, kinder side. Leo with
lucky socks (two pairs), a lucky parking space and a lucky feeling who 
knows looking at a nun is a bad omen and
blows the rest of his luck stored before a day at the track.
Then there's Elizabeth Zada, interested in reading
horses' minds - a skill related to her recently awakened post-menopausal 
sexuality.
The horses have personalities too. Epic Steam is
wild, manic and going for what he wants never mind the rider. However, he 
may just end up gelded. Foney's Sis,
orphaned at birth who is fragile, insecure and unsure who she is. Justa Bob 
an intuitive horse and single minded
winner.
A convenient "character list" is in the beginning to assist those of poor 
memory, and I'm very grateful.
Jane Smiley is an accomplished writer with nine previous works of fiction 
including: The Age of Grief, The
Greenlanders, Ordinary Love and Goodwill. Her clever character building and 
excellent writing style takes the reader effortlessly into the world of the racetrack and 
makes this book easy to read and hard to put down.
When did you say that next race was scheduled?


