Changing lives and landscapes

• Published date: 08 December 2022
• Publication title: Central Otago News

MATTHEW Galloway was 10 years old when he became captivated by the idea the Clyde Dam had caused the flooding of half a township, completely changing the landscape

That visit to the Cromwell Museum was only a few years after the lake was formed in the 1970s. Decades later he has taken a closer look, as an artist, at the implications of Robert Muldoon’s ‘‘Think Big’’ project on the region in a multi-site public installation using drone footage, sculpture, archival cartoons and a newspaper.

‘‘It starts with how impressive the dam is as a structure and its commanding presence within the landscape.’’

Galloway, who has spent a lot of time in Central Otago over the years having family connections to the region, has always looked into how big moments in New Zealand’s history have shaped the country’s identity and sense of place.

‘‘While it’s a marvellous structure we also have to hold in our hand the idea there was a huge sacrifice required by many locals who lost land, houses and livelihoods. I wanted to delve into the positives the dam provides as a nation versus the sacrifices required to generate that power .’’

The idea for the project came from a smaller work done for a group project about politics exhibited at Enjoy gallery in Wellington in 2020. After which Galloway felt there was so much more to say.

‘‘There are these mega projects of national significance that are deemed important and necessary by politicians in Wellington and as a result there are people on the ground who are asked to sacrifice a lot and I think that story is important to keep telling and keep coming back to,’’ he says.

He wanted to create a project that ‘‘talks to and for the people’’ of the district most effected by it. Galloway applied for funding from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage regional development fund and with that secured began a deep dive into the topic.

For the past two years Galloway has been working with Contact Energy. It took about a year of talks to gain access to the dam before he could record and film high definition visuals and sound of the dam in action with a drone.

‘‘We filmed from above looking down at the water coming out after having generated power. We were also able to gain access to the main power hall of the dam and fly a drone through the space which has this amazing space age quality to it.’’

The experience of being inside the dam was ‘‘incredible’’, he says.

‘‘It’s kind of awe-inspiring, the size of it. The understanding you get inside a space...