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Three films by Richard von Sturmer, The Search for Otto (1985), Aquavera (1989) and 26 Tanka Films (2007).

As an artist, Richard von Sturmer pays heed to Andre Breton’s tenet of making the ordinary magical and the magical ordinary. As he puts it: “you can get a lot of mileage out of a toaster or a toothbrush”.

Over the last thirty years Richard has published several books of poetry and prose as well as making a number of films. Through his own independent experimentation with poetry-prose he found an affinity with Japanese literature such as haiku, tanka and haibun, an affinity that is also strongly expressed in his film work. Combining and juxtaposing text and images, Richard’s films explore a world that is and is not what it seems.

Curated by Gabriel White.

Read the New Zealand Book Council's entry on Richard Von Sturmer here