Tony Watkins

Eugene O'Sullivan had been very sick and went down to coromandel to recuperate. He was erudite, intelligent, and good company. Before long he knew every potter and every artist in the Coromandels.

After six months he returned to Auckland. He came back with an idea.

He would have an exhibition to display the work of all his friends.

No one else was crazy enough so Joe Farrant, a group of students and I took up the challenge of designing and building the exhibition.

We built a bamboo cathedral in the church, now demolished, across Queen Street from the Town Hall.

Following on from the ideals of Rudolf Schwarz we hung a parachute above the icons brought by the monks who spent the week chanting. The heat from the candles left the parachute wafting up and down.

Initially I was terrified about what the vicar might say about what we had done to his church. When I eventually fronted up to him he asked if we could stay for another week.