In the early nineties, after he graduated from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, Christchurch, Parsons became well known for his public commissions.
Read MoreThese have included works of large steel infinity symbols arched over so they can be walked under, their shiny lengths embossed with sequences of mysteriously projecting Braille like codes. Sometimes such ‘messages’ are also found on reflective vertical slabs, or horizontal beams projecting out from walls.
Other variations include glockenspiel like bars with suspended tubes hanging on a wall, or shuffled numbers, Helvetica letters or barcodes on leaning beams. Another work is of a rectangular doorway with curtains of coloured translucent, heavy plastic strips. Both sorts are fetishistic in their use of alluring reflective and tactile surfaces which you walk through or under, but the letter/Braille works puzzle because they can only be deciphered with difficulty, letting the mind drift down blind alleys, blocking mental progress but allowing the feet to still restlessly wander beneath them.
