A page from Hicksville (the ‘Bushells Dairy’ page) is in this show at the Auckland Art Gallery until 14 February 2010. The exhibition brings together a bunch of art about food, from some lovely Robin White weavings to work by Andy Warhol, Breughel and Ed Ruscha. There’s even a huge crocheted octopus and a wall of chocolate fish – which you’re supposed to eat!
The ‘Bushells’ dairy I based my drawing on is a famous landmark of Auckland, photographed by Robin Morrison and painted by other local artists (my memory tells me Dick Frizzell, but I can’t now find any reference to such a work. Can anyone confirm that?). The Freemans Bay dairy (on the corner of Wellington St and Hepburn St) has been owned by the Rupa family since 1953 and was turned into a delicatessen and cafe in 2001. The old flaking Bushells sign was moved inside, and replaced with a rather garish new “replica” – which caused considerable consternation at the time, as I recall. People had grown to really love that old sign…
Oh hey! I’ve always wondered about that shop – is it called Rupa’s now?
Rupa’s Cafe is its name now, I think.