Sweet and Sugary Times Ahead for Toi Poneke Gallery

The next exhibition at Toi Poneke, Invisible Scapes, will not so much be the icing on the cake for Japanese artist-in-residence Ai Sasaki – but more like icing on the walls.

Using 20kgs of royal icing, a hard white icing made from icing sugar and egg whites, Ai is making intricate and delicate-looking landscapes that will adorn the gallery's walls. She is also working with children from Crofton Downs Primary School, a school where all children have had a weekly lesson in Japanese for many years. They will be encouraged to put their own artworks towards the exhibition.

Mayor Kerry Prendergast, who will open the exhibition, says the cultural exchange and engagement with local children will make Invisible Scapes the most collaborative exhibition the gallery has seen to date.

"The entire gallery will look like it's covered in snow," says Mayor Prendergast. "The gallery is already completely white, and to some people the exhibition will at first look quite minimalist – that is until they get up closer and see the incredibly ornate designs in the icing. It's going to look stunning."

Ai Sasaki is interested in the way in which our daily surroundings are informed by things invisible to the naked eye such as the air, time, temperatures and energy. Through this exhibition of temporary artworks, Ai wants to preserve momentarily, those landscapes that cannot be seen.

Ai Sasaki came here just over two months ago as part of the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange (WARE) programme run by Wellington City Council and the Asia New Zealand Foundation. She is staying at Bolton Street Cottage and working in her own studio at Toi PMneke Arts Centre. Ai graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Design from Kanazawa College of Art in 2001 and has had a number of solo exhibitions in Osaka. Ai Sasaki was selected for the WARE programme on the advice of leading Japanese critic, academic and curator, Hisako Hara.

Mayor Prendergast will open Invisible Scapes at 5.00pm on Monday
24 November at Toi PMneke Gallery (61 Abel Smith Street) and the exhibition will run until 1 December. Gallery opening hours are 9.00am-7.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Watch Ai Sasaki at work at the gallery from 1.00pm-3.00pm and 4.00pm-7.00pm on 20 and 21 November and from 10.00am-4.00pm on 24 November.