Teststrip
Teststrip was an artist run gallery that operated in Auckland, New Zealand from 1992 to 1997.
History
In late 1992 the artists Kirsty Cameron, Judy Darragh, Gail Haffern, Giovanni Intra, Denise Kum, Lucy Macdonald, Daniel Malone and Merylyn Tweedie formed the artist collective Teststrip. The Teststrip Gallery was opened the same year on the second floor of 10 Vulcan Lane in Auckland’s CBD where Daniel Malone was living at the time. In mid 1994 the gallery relocated to the first floor of 454 Karangahape Road. The new space had two galleries upstairs and a shop window exhibition space at street level. Writer and artist Stella Brennan described Teststrip as, “Sassy, careerist and self-aware, by its persistent charm Teststrip alerted others to the possible joys of running a gallery. This was clearly the case as shown by Teststrip acting as an inspirational model for artist run galleries such as FUZZIE VIBES, NewCall and Gambia Castle.Exhibitions
The first Teststrip exhibition in November 1992 was entitled Stock Show and included seven of the eight Teststrip members. In 1992 and early 1993 exhibitions were largely confined to the Teststrip collective members. Another early exhibition, this time also demonstrating Teststrip’s ambitious attitude, had nine of the artists travel to Wellington in March 1993 to present Teststrip on tour a group exhibition at Cubewell House in Wellington. Writer Stuart McKenzie noted that Teststrip shared, “a nostalgia for the avant-gard” and that, “the best of Teststrip is both iconoclastic and commanding.” Over the next five years, including an ongoing series of street front windows installations, Teststrip would present over 160 exhibitions. By 1994 a wider range of artists were being asked to exhibit including Matthew Hyland, Simon Cumming Ronnie van Hout, Billy Apple, Fiona Amundsen, Mikala Dwyer, Yuk King Tan and Annie O’Neill.In May 1997 a Teststrip Window exhibition by artist Peter Robinson, a painting entitled Pākehā have Rights too featuring a Nazi swastika, caused controversy when it was covered in protesting graffiti. The last exhibition at Teststrip, Gold Watch: new work from the Teststrip Board included four of the original Teststrip members Cameron, Darragh, Kum and Malone plus Simon Cumming who had been with the group for most of the journey.