A.D. SCHIERNING. Free-dom Fruit Gardens. 10 June - 4 July 2009

Free-dom Fruit Gardens is part of a nationwide project that endeavours to have fruit orchards planted in each of New Zealand’s main cities. Schierning creates a park-like atmosphere within the gallery where the viewer can sit on a bench fashioned from scrap wood, in the shade of a lemon tree and contemplate her agenda. Drawn over one wall is a map of Christchurch detailing areas of parkland and areas that measure a level 10 on the Deprivation Index. Pinpointing the area within Christchurch with the most condensed high-level deprivation rating according to this index.



Free-dom Fruit Gardens is a visual representation of a proposal to the Christchurch City Council that parkland within this area be planted as a fruit orchard.



New Zealand is divided into 39,300 mesh blocks, which have an average of 110 people in each. From information gathered in the census each mesh block has been graded on the Deprivation Index from one to ten, one being the least deprived and ten the most.Combining data such as income, home ownership, education, living space, and other factors, the (most recent) 2006 Deprivation Index grades the entire country’s wealth in this scale. Using the 2006 Deprivation Index for Christchurch City, I have pinpointed the area that has the most condensed deprivation according to this scale. This is the site for the proposed Free-dom Fruit Garden.



NZDep2006 Index of Deprivation._ Ref: Salmond, C., Crampton, P. and Atkinson, J. University of Otago,Wellington.