Exhibitions
Events
On display
Britten Burnouts!
John Britten, 1995. Kerry Walker Photography
Event
Past event
Forecourt
Free
Get revved for an extra special event, as we kick off Billy Apple’s Great Britten! exhibition with a roar.
The star of the show, the stunning Britten V1000, designed and built in Christchurch by John Britten and his team, won the 1995 BEARS world championship and is one of only ten V1000 motorcycles in the world. Find a space on the Gallery forecourt and watch champion motorcyclist Andrew Stroud ride this extraordinary bike into the Gallery with a burnout or two on the way!
Related reading: Motor racing
Interview
Fly Shit on the Windscreen
In February 2016, Bulletin sent graphic designer and motorbike enthusiast Luke Wood to sit down with artist Billy Apple to discuss bikes, and in particular the Britten V1000. Designed and built in Christchurch by John Britten, the V1000 is the star of Apple’s new exhibition, Great Britten! A Work by Billy Apple. The following extracts were taken from the conversation.
Notes
#mygreatbritten
We’re extremely pleased to have Billy Apple’s GREAT BRITTEN! exhibition at the Gallery. A celebration of the ingenuity of the bike’s builder, John Britten, that blurs the line between life and art, it’s drawing bike lovers and art lovers alike into the Gallery in droves. And it’s pretty clear that, although not everyone is up for building a superbike in their garage, lots of you really love your wheels.
Exhibition
Great Britten! A work by Billy Apple
Billy Apple blurs the line between life and art with a new installation that celebrates the triumphant, record-shattering 1995 campaign of the Christchurch-designed Britten V1000 motorbike.
Notes
World-famous Britten superbike comes to the Gallery
The record-setting superbike that stunned the world is coming to the Gallery as part of a new exhibition by acclaimed artist Billy Apple, with a special sneak-peek event happening this Thursday 14 July.
Notes
Petrol Heads
On a recent trip to Wellington to attend the excellent Van der Velden symposium at Te Papa I saw the Britten motorcycle on display and was instantly reminded of one exhibition that was in the pipeline here at Christchurch Art Gallery prior to the big shakes, an exhibition that involved Billy Apple and the Britten motorcycle titled Great Britten!