On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, a sculptural installation by Michael Parekowhai, will be exhibited at the 54th Venice Biennale in the Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore on the Grand Canal.

The work includes one intricately-carved Steinway concert grand piano and two concert grands fabricated in bronze supporting two cast bronze bulls. On one piano a full-size bull rests on the closed lid with its massive body suggesting the folding forms of landscape. On the other piano the bull is standing firm offering an eye-to-eye challenge for anyone prepared to take a seat at the keyboard. The installation will also feature a figure from the Kapa Haka series (Officer Taumaha) and two small bronze olive tree saplings (Constitution Hill).

The titles of the works that make up the installation are: He Korero Purakau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu: story of a New Zealand river (the carved piano), A Peak in Darien (the resting bull and piano), and Chapman’s Homer (the standing bull and piano). He Korero Purakau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu Story of a New Zealand River will be played throughout the exhibition with a programme of special performances planned. If the sculptures are a source of visual surprise for visitors, it is the music that will greet them when they arrive