Animator Preston McNeil with an arcade game console created in collaboration with artist Joe Sheehan Photo: Rebecca McMillan
Since he could barely reach the joysticks in his local parlour in Ngongotaha, Lake Rotorua, Preston McNeil (Te Arawa, Tainui) has loved spacies.
It’s a passion the professional animator and designer has taken seriously ever since; collecting video games and consoles and - this month - realising a spectacular dream.
Currently on show for the public to play at Te Auaha in Pōneke are eight specially designed wall-mounted spacies machines. Each a bespoke object in collaboration with a leading Aotearoa artist.
They range from a carved console complete with pounamu sticks, care of sculptor Joe Sheehan, to bold designs from well-known street artists like Otis Frizzell, Gina Kiel, Otis Chamberlain and Flox.
The preciousness of these machines reflects how for Preston arcade machines have always been a powerful portal to other cultural dimensions.
Arca Arcades is on at Te Auaha in Wellington until 16 September.
