For the past thirty years artists, writers and spectators have been making regular treks to the western most point in the middle of New Zealand's North Island. To a number of people involved in the arts community this pilgrimage to New Plymouth, a coastal settlement with a population of little more than fifty thousand, has become an integral part of re-registering their belief in contemporary art. The irony that a number of the most innovative exhibitions and artist projects in New Zealand have been produced by the regional Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, has not been lost on either local or international audiences. In many respects this gallery has become an icon of what can be done on the geographical margins, off the beaten track and out of the urban spotlight. It is this history that has continually seen people leaving State Highway 1 to do an art drive-by.
With this in mind I once more buckled up for the sortie mission down to the self-titled 'Energy Pulse' of New Zealand. Having spent three hours on the road passing through the tranquil settings of Te Kuiti ('The Sharing Capital of New Zealand '), Te Awamutu ('The Rose Gardens'), PoiPoi and the great Awakenu Gorge, I felt I had put in the necessary mileage for an exhibition called Drive. As the brochure for this extravaganza claimed this was 'a rare opportunity to witness vintage, classic and contemporary views on the car and the highway, by 60 leading artists worldwide', all of this and the possibility of the world's longest car parade along New Plymouth's main drag. While the car and the freeway have become synonymous with the birth of technology, a metaphor for