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WelcomeSandra Coney Chair, ARC Parks and Heritage Committee
Welcome to the second Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens. The fi rst exhibition and competition in 2007 was a bit of a ‘toe in the water’ for the Auckland Regional Council which had not done anything like this before.
It was a success beyond our expectations. Not only did it draw an unprecedented number of the Auckland region’s public to the gardens - 314,000 people visited in the period it was on – but it showcased the gardens in new and spectacular ways. Every turn in the garden pathway, every vista and landscape, took on a new magic when it was graced by one of the various and intriguing sculptures created by the talented sculptors taking part.
They were provided with the opportunity to create a public work on a large scale and place the works in the inspirational setting of the Auckland Botanic Gardens, now coming into their full mature beauty after decades of loving care by curators, managers and staff of the gardens.
So we are about to be surprised and enchanted again, with a new collection of works. And there are some additional pleasures: the Medallion Group collection and the smaller sculptures. Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens is developing as one of the premier events of the Auckland arts calendar.
Once again, I commend the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens on their vision and unwavering support for this show and for the Gardens. To Jack Hobbs, the curatorial panel, sponsors, garden staff and volunteers and all who have had a role in Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2009/10, congratulations and enjoy the show.
Image: Concept drawing for After the Flood, Christine Hellyar
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ForewordTerry Becher President, Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens
The Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens are delighted to once again be involved with Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens.
The inaugural event was a truly outstanding success, drawing visitors from near and far and favourable comments long after the exhibition concluded. I believe the diverse nature of the sculptures and their strategic placement around the Gardens contributed to the sense of discovery that appealed to the children who visited, not to mention the adults.
This year’s exhibition features 20 sculptures selected by the curatorial panel from both well known New Zealand artists and upcoming artists showcasing their work.
Staging an event like Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens requires a great deal of planning and a whole lot of ‘behind the scenes’ work to bring everything together. The dedication, enthusiasm and expertise of everyone involved has been outstanding.
Finally, we sincerely thank all of our sponsors and patrons for their generous ongoing support, enabling the Gardens to hold what will be a very successful and enjoyable exhibition.
Image: Concept drawing for Listen & Learn, Phil Neary
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From the Curatorial TeamLeo JewAlexa JohnstonLisa Reihana
The Curatorial Team is delighted to introduce the second Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens. The very successful inaugural event attracted over 314,000 visitors to this, one of the most visited of all our regional parks.
Once again, the call for proposals brought in a variety of exciting and innovative responses. We selected 20 new sculptures that respond in a variety of ways to the gardens, environmental issues and technical challenges. Some of the selected works are humorous, others are contemplative, others puzzling, but all of them are unique and memorable.
From a texting teenage bunny, to balletically rotating solar powered poles, and on to a cluster of metal and glass giant cane rushes; to some expressive brick seating and a trompe l’oeil tower of yellow blocks; to a mysterious crawling creature, the tinkling of temple bells, brimming basalt bowls and so much more - we hope that visitors will see the gardens with fresh eyes after experiencing these new works in such beautiful surroundings.
Inside the Huakaiwaka Visitor Centre there is an exhibition of other works by this year’s artists and many of the sculptors included in
Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2007/08. This exhibition is intended to expand the viewers’ experience of the artists’ range of works. In addition, the Medallion Group is hosting the ‘Garden of Delights’ exhibition. It too includes many sculptors from the inaugural exhibition, and again, all the artists have produced works that respond to botanical themes.
This year for the fi rst time there will be an Auction Dinner at which drawings generously donated by the artists will be sold to assist future Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens exhibitions. And a series of kids’ workshops run by art students and Gardens’ staff will ensure an interactive outreach for the next generation.
We are grateful to the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens for their visionary leadership of this project: to the staff of the Gardens – Jack Hobbs, Micheline Newton and the dedicated team for their effi cient and enthusiastic management; to Richard Mathieson for his coordinating role; to the sponsors for making the exhibition possible and to the artists for their wonderful work. It has been a privilege to be part of this event.
Image: Detail of Ascension, Russell Beck
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Participating artistsThe fi rst number refers to the trail guide (back cover foldout page),the second number is the page number.
1 Richard Wedekind p 8 2 Christine Hellyar p 10
3 Colleen Ryan-Priest p 12
4 Tui Hobson p 14
5 Bing Dawe p 16
6 John Edgar p 18
7 Chris Hargreaves p 20
8 Phil Newbury p 22
9 Aiko Groot p 24
10 Peter Lange p 26
11 Jamie Pickernell p 28
12 David McCracken p 30
13 Jeff Thomson p 32
14 Phil Neary p 34
15 Gaye Jurisich p 36
16 Todd Butterworth p 38
17 Russell Beck p 40
18 Fiona Garlick p 42
19 Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi p 44
20 Barry Lett p 46
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1 Richard Wedekind Bread & Circuses (Panem et Circenses)
Painted cast aluminium
1500mm x 400mm x 2000mm
$8,500
Bread & Circuses is a parody on the old sideshow clowns with their swivelling heads, ping-pong balls and a chance to win something you don’t really need. This collection of sinister clowns juxtaposed in a garden setting is a commentary on our insatiable appetites for petty amusements and distractions from what is really going on around us. The work’s title comes from Roman satirist Decimus Iuvenalis’ (c200 AD) comment about politicians’ efforts to gain popular support through handouts and diversions rather than sound policy.
Whether it’s the happy trill of a fairground tune or a twinge of coulrophobia (fear of clowns), these fi ve unique life-sized
aluminium busts coated in white enamel and with menacing masks, will see you off on your journey through Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens with something to think about.
Richard Wedekind is a sculptor and painter who draws inspiration from his fi rst career as an earth scientist. His work has appeared at headland Sculpture on the Gulf (2009), NZ Sculpture OnShore (2008), Shapeshifter (2008) and at Brick Bay Sculpture Trail (2007). It also features in public and private collections across the Commonwealth.
Richard Wedekind was born in Timaru in 1958. He lives and works on Waiheke Island.
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2 Christine Hellyar After the Flood
Cast bronze
300mm x 2200mm x 200mm
$25,000
The inspiration for the fantastical creatures that Christine Hellyar has created came from the fl otsam of woody plants collected on North Taranaki beaches. After the Flood draws attention to what we know about plants and animals travelling great distances on drifting wood.
Christine Hellyar’s work is a coloured cast bronze imaginary creature with nine similar smaller creatures spaced out along its back. The eyes of these animals are made of red glass, reminiscent of the eyes of dragons in early Chinese bronzes. Hellyar chose the Threatened Native Plants Garden for her work because she believes this is where things could have ended up after an actual fl ood on the site.
The idea of one large creature supporting several smaller creatures is traditional in carvings of Tangaroa, the sea god, in Tahiti and in the Cook Islands.
Christine Hellyar has been a leading New Zealand sculptor for over four decades. She has exhibited widely in New Zealand and overseas and is represented in all major public and private collections. Hellyar’s work Flight from the Forest featured in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens exhibition in 2007/08.
Christine Hellyar was born in New Plymouth in 1947 and lives in Auckland.
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3 Colleen Ryan-Priest Caught in the Act of Losing You – Sporadanthus
ferrugineusGalvanised powder-coated steel blades 2500mm x 50mm,
cast glass 60mm x 60mm x 50mm
Group of fi ve $12,000, group of three $7,200
Positioning her work in the Threatened Native Plants Garden, Colleen Ryan-Priest aims to open up a view to a hidden world. Paying homage to Sporadanthus ferrugineus, the giant cane rush, these eleven blades of steel and cast glass boldly celebrate what Ryan-Priest sees as a botanical icon of New Zealand.
Each blade arches and bends in the wind. The glass seed heads refl ect the intense quality of light that emanates from sky and water alike and reminds us of the clear, refractive characteristics and value of water in a wetland.
Colleen Ryan-Priest has been an artist and landscape architect for 25 years. In the last decade she has worked with glass and expounds the way in which its transparency and refractive qualities provide a multi-faceted view into and beyond the surface of a solid object.
‘This allows a depth of thought and visual imagery with which to express the layers of tangible and intangible elements of our social, climatic and geophysical environment.’
Ryan-Priest has exhibited in Australia and extensively in New Zealand. She has dedicated herself to sculpture through glass workshops, learning opportunities and conferences around the world – as both student and teacher. Three signifi cant works are held in the public collection of the Waikato Museum of Art and History.
Colleen Ryan-Priest was born in Whangarei in 1947 and lives in Hamilton.
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4 Tui Hobson Ancestral Light
Macrocarpa
1450mm x 900mm, 1200mm x 900mm and 1250mm x 550mm
on 1m metal poles
$23,000
Tui Hobson’s work for Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens, Ancestral Light, looks at the signifi cance of ancient rocks and prehistoric forms in the present day landscape. The wisdom and spirituality that emanates from such ancient forms is to be respected as we take a journey back to the beginning of human existence.
Hobson’s work, constructed in macrocarpa and steel, stands on poles and is oiled to create the luminous look and feel of natural bone. The forms play with shadows and light and are constructed to allow light through them. The resulting shadows will create new
shapes. The poles will disappear at night giving the illusion of weightlessness, of the fi gure fl oating. The tattoo designs on the sculpture, fi ve stars and a moon, are also symbols of light.
Tui Hobson has exhibited at major exhibitions around New Zealand. Her public installations feature in Auckland, Tokoroa and Taiwan. In 2004, Hobson was recipient of the Martin and Hughes Contemporary Art Award and completed an Artist in Residency in Taiwan in 2008. She creates sculptures and carvings in wood, stone, metal and cast glass.
Tui Hobson grew up in Wellington and now lives in Auckland.
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5 Bing Dawe From the series, A landscape with too many holes,
‘Wishing for St Francis’Laser cut steel, bronze
2500mm x 1100mm x 400mm
$25,000
From the series, A landscape with too many holes, ‘Wishing for St Francis’ refl ects Dawes’ ongoing engagement and concern for New Zealand’s native fl ora and fauna. In this work he references Giottos’ famous painting of ‘St Francis Preaching to the Birds’ and on behalf of our native birds, calls for help from St Francis or a similar advocate to come to their rescue.
Like many of his sculptures, Landscape with too many holes presents a scenario of real and potential loss caused by the lack of human care and foresight. Arranged as a stylised tree trunk, steel plate is positioned and around this birds
swirl and posture, forming and replacing the tree’s branches and canopy. The negative shapes of the birds are cut out of the plate as if to record the loss or as the artist describes it, “Holes in the landscape, while those remaining peel out in three dimensional symmetry to remind us of the beauty and value of those remaining.”
For Bing Dawe, art is a vehicle for communicating his wider concerns about political, cultural and environmental issues.
Since graduating from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts in the mid 1970s, Dawe has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand and overseas. He has held over 40 solo exhibitions and his work is held in most public and pivate collections in New Zealand and overseas. He was the 1999 winner of the Wallace Visa Gold Art Award. His work Never Much Loved – Black Shag at the Ox-Bow featured in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens in 2007/08.
Bing Dawe was born in Oamaru in 1952 and lives in Christchurch.
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6 John Edgar
Ellipse, Sight and CompassBasalt
Ellipse: 940mm x 850mm x 710mm, $7,500
Sight: 760mm x 650mm x 640mm, $6,500
Compass: 770mm x 760mm x 640mm, $9,000
‘Bowls are one of the most important and ubiquitous human implements. Their origins are as old as us. From a lake surrounded by hills to the great bowl of the night, and from a bowl of food to a fi re pit, they sustain and nurture us. They are simple and evocative, peaceful and benign. And they hold water.’
John Edgar’s Ellipse, Sight and Compass bowls are sculpted from locally sourced basalt. The wide deep bowls, with their fi nely detailed carving, are in contrast with the rough exterior – left largely in its natural state. It is easy to see the block from which the bowl originated.
Edgar, a keen landscaper and gardener at his kauri-forested Karekare home, delights in the fi lling of water bowls to overfl owing, by rain or his own hand, that then quench his garden. ‘Large bowls that hold water have many important references to the ritual acts of libation, cleansing, christening, and drinking – acts that refresh, revitalise and renew body and spirit in the same way that gardens do.’
John Edgar has been creating artworks and exhibiting in New Zealand and abroad since 1977. His public art projects include the McLeod’s Footbridge in Henderson, two basalt sculptures for the Waitakere City Civic Centre and the granite Transformer in the Auckland Domain. Edgar’s exhibition Ballast: Bringing the Stones Home, that has just concluded at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, investigates Scottish history and culture and that country’s connection with New Zealand.
John Edgar was born in Auckland in 1950 and lives at Karekare.
Assisted by Marlen Fischer
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7 Chris Hargreaves Deserted Vessel: Sanctuary
Aluminium, acrylic perspex, laminated timber
2500mm x 2700mm x 1200mm
$5,000
Chris Hargreaves challenges us with our own refl ection and our perception of reality with Deserted Vessel: Sanctuary, a combination that questions what is real and what is an illusion. Hargreaves’ work consists of a lifeboat made of aluminium and laminated timbers with the fl oor of the boat made from mirrored perspex. The way the hull is angled to a point, like that of a child’s spinning top, represents the physical instability of the object.
The lifeboat is a contradiction in terms; while traditionally a shelter or refuge from the water that surrounds the larger vessel, upon rescue the inhabitant is confronted with the catastrophe of self-refl ection, solidarity, adrift.
‘My work explores uneasiness, brought on by the inherent implications evoked by the object, the dry land position of the object and the physical tensions of the materials against the implied activity around the image. To use the functionality of the object would be to shatter its illusion.’
Chris Hargreaves’ work is currently at the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail (2009-2011) and has appeared at NZ Sculpture OnShore (2008) and headland Sculpture on the Gulf (2009). His sculptures explore the way in which people interact and build relationships through nostalgia for material objects and how this can change what we perceive to be real or a ‘truth’.
Chris Hargreaves was born in Auckland in 1981 and still lives there.
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8 Phil Newbury Intensifi ed Rain
Galvanised steel, paint, aluminium clips, glass and crystal dishes
3000mm x 520mm x 50mm
$15,000
Phil Newbury’s work takes the form of a skeletal leaf. The skeleton is fashioned out of steel bars and the spaces between, fi lled with glass and crystal dishes. The glass and the patterns it generates represent the rain spots that appear on a leaf in nature and, in the outdoor summer setting, the natural elements will enhance this spectacular effect.
Newbury says the materials he uses in Intensifi ed Rain also symbolise recycling and utilising found objects in a fading economy.
Phil Newbury has been working with glass since 1966. His substantial number of commissioned works appear in public places in creative and varied ways – from door panels and slumped glass signs to dessert plates and sculpture. Newbury’s sculptural work has appeared in exhibitions across New Zealand, including Sculpture on the Gulf (2007), NZ Sculpture OnShore (2008) and Sculpture in Central Otago (2009).
Phil Newbury was born in Invercargill in 1951 and still lives there.
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9 Aiko Groot Pas de Deux
316 stainless steel, aluminium and electromechanical components
6000mm x 2000mm x 2000mm
$21,150
Pas de Deux is a relationship between two deceptively simple moving elements. The 6.7m polished aluminium tubes independently rotate and slowly trace conical paths. When these cones overlap, the two elements interact both visually and physically.
Aiko Groot says his sculptures are in many ways a refl ection of his own ambiguous relationship with technology and our hyper-kinetic society.
‘I have always found gizmos interesting, yet I am deeply aware of their often superfl uous and dehumanising nature. There is an unmistakeable irony in exploring this ambiguity with the machine
by making more of them. This has led me to pursue a re-humanisation of the technical and mechanical; a search for the personality in the machine as it were.’
Aiko Groot graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1994. His works have appeared at numerous exhibitions around New Zealand and can be found in both public and private collections.
Aiko Groot was born in Holland in 1972 and lives on Waiheke Island.
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10 Peter Lange
Curmudgeon SuiteBrick
500mm x 1400mm x 500mm and 500mm x 600mm x 500mm
$14,000
Peter Lange requested that Curmudgeon Suite be situated ‘anywhere where folk can sit and enjoy the view.’ The contemporary New Zealand Rose Garden provides just that – a tranquil and unique setting for this three piece suite and a place where grumpy old men, (‘pshaw, tut tut’), might take a rest whilst their companions smell the roses.
Lange has been working with brick for the last six years exploring the sculptural qualities of this very basic material.
His works appear at the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail, Connells Bay Sculpture Park and Zealandia Sculpture Garden and in collections that range from The Beehive in Wellington to China and Dubai.
Peter Lange’s Campsite – boat & tent appeared in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens in 2007/08 and was purchased by the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens. Now part of the Gardens’ permanent collection, it is a popular feature with the hundreds of thousands of people that visit the Gardens each year.
Peter Lange was born in Auckland in 1944. He lives in Auckland.
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11 Jamie Pickernell Teenage Text Bunny
Heart macrocarpa, paint
3000mm x 650mm x 600mm
$12,000
Jamie Pickernell grew up hunting rabbits with his dad.
Pickernell draws on the way in which rabbits feature in our colonial past, children’s stories and on the dining table. He likes the way animal characteristics are blended with human to describe story, myth and social comment.
Teenage Text Bunny is the third in a series that capture some of the common themes of today’s society. The Carrot or the Stick (2006) refl ects the recent anti-smacking debate and Mr Warren B.Unny (2008) was carved as economic doom and gloom began to set in.
‘This texting teenage rabbit’s being dragged here by his ‘olds’ to meet relatives at the gardens but doesn’t want a bar of it! He’s also totally oblivious to the botanical beauty that surrounds him. He’s a celebration of a gloriously self-obsessed and often-fraught time of life we all go through.’
Jamie Pickernell graduated from Wanganui’s Taupo Key School of Fine Art in 1996 with a degree in Fine Art, majoring in sculpture. His furniture, also a work of art, appears in private collections in New Zealand and around the world and two pieces in Te Papa Tongarewa, The Museum of New Zealand’s permanent furniture collection. Pickernell’s sculptures have featured in NZ Sculpture OnShore and the Lake House Wood Sculpture Exhibition as well as public installations around New Zealand.
Jamie Pickernell lives in Rotorua.
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12 David McCracken The land is slowly liquid
Soil, grass seed
1200mm x 40m x 6m
POA
Perhaps the most unusual sculpture to appear in Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens, David McCracken’s work of horticultural splendour is shaped from soil and carefully tended grass. It features a large breaking swell or wave and is covered with grass to blend seamlessly into the surrounding lawn.
The purpose of The land is slowly liquid is to illustrate the idea that the earth is fl uid and in a state of continual fl ux.
‘This is something I noticed fi rst in the old hill country fences in the Coromandel. The strainer posts had remained fi xed, being buried deeper, but the posts and wires had been dragged downhill by the
movement of the soil forming a great sag or curve in the line of the fence.’
McCracken’s chosen media for Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens is vastly different from his usual preference for welded metal artworks and very much created to suit the Botanic Gardens setting.
‘The act of maintenance of The land is slowly liquid was just as important as the creation of the work.’
David McCracken’s Tread Lightly appeared in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2007/08. His work has also featured at Sculpture on the Gulf where in 2005 he won the People’s Choice Award.
David McCracken was born in Auckland in 1963. He lives in Auckland.
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13 Jeff Thomson Water tanks
Corrugated iron, screen-printed steel, timber, glass, water,
found objects
2500mm x 1500mm x 1500mm
$15,000 each
Take a peek inside a porthole in Jeff Thomson’s ‘Gardens of Eden’ and you’re in for a surprise. Thomson has mirrored the botanical surrounds within the corrugated iron display cases that he has constructed for Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens. Each case has a series of viewing portholes made of toughened glass, surrounded by steel. The cases are made of recycled corrugated iron, in a variety of colours and tones.
Like a diorama, the individually themed environments within the cases tell a story with real and artifi cial materials.
Jeff Thomson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland (1981). He has lived, worked, exhibited and held residencies across New Zealand and in Germany, Australia and France.
For nearly three decades Thomson has been working with corrugated iron – a material synonymous with day-to-day rural New Zealand life and one which Thomson has fashioned into everything from a Holden station wagon to a graceful topiary kiwi. Amongst his many public works, the station wagon is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and a fl ock of cows graze in front of the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra.
Jeff Thomson’s work Topiary appeared in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2007/08.
Thomson was born in Auckland in 1957 and lives in Helensville.
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14 Phil Neary Listen & Learn
Steel, stainless steel, cast bronze & patina
2900mm x 2900mm x 2600mm
$24,000
Phil Neary’s sculpture Listen & Learn is a 2.9 metre high work of steel branches and bronze bells. This sculpture follows the shape of a calyx krater, or Athenian vase. A calyx is also a set of green sepals that hold the petals of a fl ower at the top of its stem – bringing a botanical theme to this intriguing shape. The bronze bells nestled within the steel branches are inscribed with ecological images and designed to gently chime in the breeze.
‘I was inspired by the Muehlenbeckia astonii growing in our garden and the hexagonal patterns entwined in it. Muehlenbeckia is where creatures like geckos hide and the idea of bringing ecology into the sculpture, by hanging things within it, appealed.’
Phil Neary has a Master of Fine Arts (fi rst class honours) from Elam School of Fine Arts and has been working as a sculptor since graduating. His work has appeared at Brick Bay Sculpture Trail, NZ Sculpture OnShore, the Wood Carving Sculpture Symposium at the Lake House Arts Centre and Art in the Woolshed at Tawharanui Regional Park.
Neary’s work He He He He Ha (on refl ection) appeared in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2007/08.
Phil Neary was born in Takapuna in 1971 and lives in Auckland.
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Screen swings in a summer breeze as if performing a dance routine, air driven and spontaneous. Like an oversized ornament or fl y screen it decorates and refl ects in the water below where it dips occasionally sending ripples across its surface.
For Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens, Gaye Jurisich has brought plastic ribbons normally destined for other purposes out into the open encouraging us to consider the relationship between plastics and our green living spaces.
Jurisich is a Hamilton-based artist of many years experience. Her work includes painting and sculpture in a variety of media. She has held many solo exhibitions over the last two decades and her work has featured in headland Sculpture on the Gulf (2008), NZ Sculpture OnShore (2008) and at the Waitakaruru Sculpture Park in the Waikato. Jurisich has also exhibited extensively in the United States and Australia, and her work appears in collections in New Zealand and around the world.
Gaye Jurisich was born in Huntly in 1953 and lives in Hamilton.
15 Gaye Jurisich Screen
Green plastic, cable wire, swages
5000mm x 4000mm
$3,000
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‘Pattern is everywhere, the curve of a leaf, a swirling wave, reduced to their essence and informing the shape of my work. Like the bee, I work with considerations of construction process, build-ability and mass production.’
Todd Butterworth is attracted to the repetition we see in nature, whether it be in a cone, the reproductive structure of plants that have an elongated central axis bearing overlapping scales, or bracts which produce pollen, spores, or ovules.
The relationship of shapes, pattern and surface texture in Wedge, Skew, Splice are enriched by the connections to these qualities in nature. When standing beside Wedge, Skew, Splice look up, and
see if you can make those connections yourself.
Butterworth has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts and a Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. He enjoys making objects, being a producer and installing sculpture as evidence of that production.
Todd Butterworth was born in Wellington in 1972 and lives in Auckland.
16 Todd Butterworth Wedge, Skew, Splice
Bronze
1500mm x 1200mm x 1200mm
$22,500
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17 Russell Beck Ascension
Steel, galvanised and painted
1260mm x 1740mm x 240mm
$5,600
‘The concept is to stimulate perception of solid objects. The work is an illusion of a series of ascending cubes. They are actually rhombohedrons, which present an almost two dimensional effect of a three dimensional shape. The illusion differs from front and back sides.’
Russell Beck’s designs are inspired by the natural history, landforms, astronomy and geology of New Zealand. An early engineering background infl uences his work, particularly in his bronze, stainless and fabricated steel pieces.
Beck’s interest in jade (pounamu) and jade carving has gained him
international recognition and led him to publish books on the subject.
‘A dominant theme with many of my designs are grooves which are inspired by Southland’s glacial landscape and the Maori method of sawing pounamu.’
He also works with limestone, argillite, marble and granite, and has worked stone for more than 40 years. His works are represented in public and private collections in New Zealand and overseas.
Russell Beck, a retired Museum and Art Gallery Director, lives in Invercargill where he was born in 1941.
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18 Fiona Garlick Skipping Stone
Stainless steel
65mm x 800 - 150mm x 20m
$18,500
‘We experience a childish delight when we get a stone to skip three, four, maybe fi ve times across the water. We secretly hope that someone else witnessed it. It is a special pleasure, similar to that of seeing a shooting star or catching out of the corner of one’s eye, a single autumn leaf waltzing to the ground.’
Fiona Garlick explores the ephemeral remains of a skipping stone and its trajectory across the lake. Skipping Stone plays with the idea of capturing an instant in time, freezing and making permanent what is, in reality, fl eeting.
Garlick has recently graduated from the Elam School of Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (honours). She has a BA in English literature from Victoria University in Wellington and spent 14 years working in the television industry as a director and producer. Garlick also studied at Camberwell College of Arts in London and Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall. She returned to Auckland, and the New Zealand landscape she missed, to fi nish her studies.
Garlick has exhibited at NZ Sculpture OnShore and Brick Bay Sculpture Trail. Much of her work deals with the concept of identity and colonialism. Her work Giant Charm Bracelet featured in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens in 2007/08.
Fiona Garlick was born in Coventry, England in 1969 and immigrated to New Zealand as a child. She now lives in Arrowtown, Central Otago.
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19 Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi Tauhivaotà – Forest Guardian
Aluminium
2500mm x 600mm x 500mm
$25,000
When Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi created Tauhivaotà – Forest Guardian he stipulated that it needed space, so that people could walk around it and interact with it.
‘It is based on a human fi gure and is a form created by interweaving layers into a three dimensional pattern, becoming a free-standing vertical sculpture.’
Tohi gave his work the name Tauhivaotà – Forest Guardian not only because it is suited to the Botanic Gardens, but because it is based upon indigenous beliefs of gods and beings who belong to the wooded areas of Aotearoa.
‘He will stand as a reminder of heritage and guardianship of the environment.’
Tohi says his work transforms the technology of the past into a modern representation of identity and experience. By using the patterns established by the ancient Pacifi c Island art form of lalava, he expresses a Polynesian heritage with metaphors that speak to the entire community.
Tohi has been a fulltime artist and sculptor since 1992, previous to that he was carving tutor at Rangimarie Maori Arts and Crafts Centre and Taranaki Polytechnic. He has shown his work in solo exhibitions across New Zealand, in Tonga, Japan and San Francisco and in group shows in the Pacifi c Islands, Europe, Australia, North America and Asia. Recent exhibitions include Point to Point: Sculpture in the Park at Waitakaruru, NZ Sculpture OnShore and Le Folauga at Kaohsiung Museum in Taiwan. His work Manulele (Running Bird) appeared in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens in 2007/08.
Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi was born in Tonga in 1959 and lives in Auckland.
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20 Barry Lett The Sacred Grove (for Geoff Park)
Plywood, coiled pipe, fi breglass
4000mm
$28,000
The Sacred Grove is dedicated to the late Geoff Park, an author and ecologist whose primary concern was the disappearance of lowland forest in New Zealand. Barry Lett was so moved by Park’s book Nga Uruora, which translates to mean ‘the groves of life’, that he decided to create The Sacred Grove in memory of Park.
‘There used to be a tremendous amount of bird migration from lowland forest to the high country. The destruction of these precious landscapes has disrupted bird patterns and contributed to the loss and extinction of many of our native birds’.
Barry Lett has exhibited regularly for 30 years and is well known as one of this country’s pioneering art dealers. His recent outdoor exhibitions include Sculpture on the Gulf, Connells Bay Sculpture Park, Brick Bay Sculpture Trail and Art in the Woolshed at Tawharanui Regional Park. Public works of art by Lett appear in the Aotea Centre and Auckland Art Gallery and in many public and private collections throughout New Zealand.
Lett’s work Big Rock Dog appeared in the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens in 2007/08 and won the exhibition’s McConnell Property Supreme Award. Big Rock Dog is now sited at Ayrlies, the Whitford gardens of Bev McConnell.
Barry Lett was born in Hastings in 1940. He lives at Tawharanui.
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Garden of DelightsThe New Zealand Medallion Group Huakaiwaka Visitor Centre 7 November 2009 - 14 February 2010
This exhibition of small works by the Medal Artists of NZ and guests is intended to celebrate the world of plants in a private intimate manner.
The format of the works relate to the human hand; objects can be held, felt and be carried on the person.
Our celebration of the world of plants is a small token of thanks for the gifts bestowed on us by them. Plants have been our companions and life sustainers from the start; they feed us, heal us, shelter us alive or dead, heat us, clothe us, clean the air, fertilise the soil, amuse and delight us. Our physical and psychological equilibrium depends on these humble companions.
The exhibiting artists have interpreted the theme of ‘Garden of Delights’ in the widest sense, each focusing on their own personal issues and themes. The works are either unique statements or are presented as small multiple editions.
Marte SzirmayCurator Garden of Delights
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Special event: An Evening in the GardensStoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens Auction Dinner Saturday 13 February 2010Huakaiwaka Visitor Centre, Auckland Botanic Gardens
Own a unique piece of Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens. These exquisitely framed drawings are where this exhibition began – the concepts that won these talented artists a place in Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2009/10.
Support the future of Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens by coming along to this very special evening where all proceeds from the auction go toward future exhibitions.
Tickets $120 each or $1200 for table of 10
Contact the Auckland Botanic Gardens for inquiries, bookings and information.
www.aucklandbotanicgardens.co.nz/sculpture09 267 1457
Supported by Webb’s Auction House and John Leech Framing Workshop.
Three sumptuous courses
Wine matching by Stoneleigh Winemaker Jamie Marfell
Light music and entertainment
Auctioneer Peter Webb
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Future vision of the Auckland Botanic GardensJack HobbsCurator Manager
Of all the Auckland Botanic Garden’s aspirations, perhaps the most important is our wish to excite people about plants. As many people as possible, and from all ages and ethnicities. To achieve this we have recently been working on a new master plan that will enable visitors to enjoy the very best experience possible.
Traditionally botanic gardens have focused on the collection, cultivation and documentation of plants, often largely for scientifi c or conservation purposes and without much regard for the public who fund this work. Although such objectives remain the core business of any self respecting botanic gardens, our aim is to achieve them in the most entertaining manner possible so that everyone can feel both informed and excited by their visit.
Sculpture has an important role to play in this. We have always thought of great gardens as great works of art. Bev McConnell’s magnifi cent Ayrlies garden was once aptly described by her young daughter as her ‘living sculpture’.
If we can create gardens that captivate visitors with their beauty, surely people will also become enamoured with the fascinating stories about plants. A community that appreciates and nurtures plants is enriched, and it logically follows that they will care for their wider environment. To achieve this end we endeavour to introduce as many people as possible to the joys of gardening, whether it is for beauty or food production.
The spin-offs do not end there. Amid all the debate about climate change, no one disputes the fact that plants have a major role to play as we strive to establish a sustainable planet. In fact they probably play the major role!
Appropriate sculpture complements a garden and contributes to its beauty and allure. The splendid sculptures we have already obtained at the Gardens contribute much to visitor enjoyment. In some cases they also provoke visitors to think more deeply about the plants and gardens around them.
Photos, clockwise: Perennial Garden, Botanic Gardens Summer Festival 2009,
Rock Garden, Potter Children’s Garden, Camellia Garden, Nursery.
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Wine and the artsJamie Marfell Stoneleigh winemaker
Stoneleigh Vineyards is delighted and proud to be the major sponsor of the second biennial Sculpture in the Gardens exhibition – a winning sponsorship that capitalises on the synergies between wine and the arts.
We value kiwi creativity and are passionate about encouraging arts partnerships that are visionary and this outdoor event set in the majestic setting of Auckland’s Botanic Gardens is truly an inspirational exhibition.
Stoneleigh’s award-winning, uniquely Marlborough wines are all about raw sophistication of nature’s brilliance and continuous innovation. The dedicated Stoneleigh vineyard and winemaking teams are committed to creating wines that encourage differentiation and discovery.
The vines at Stoneleigh’s exceptional vineyards are planted in the stones left by an ancient riverbed. Our wines express the warmth of the sunstones in their fruit, producing fresh, clean and vibrant fl avours - a true expression of their place and time. We hope you enjoy discovering the taste and magic of Stoneleigh wines.
On behalf of Stoneleigh, I congratulate each of the 20 New Zealand artists and sculptors taking part in this season’s Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens.
Stoneleigh Vineyards also sponsor the Stoneleigh People’s Choice Award.
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Living art formsBev McConnell McConnell Property Supreme Award sponsor
I have gardened at Ayrlies in Whitford for over 40 years and the Auckland Botanic Gardens has always been available to feed my thirst for knowledge.
Under the expert guidance and diplomacy of Jack Hobbs and his team, the Botanic Gardens has blossomed, groaned, struggled and matured into a vibrant and fascinating collection of plants displayed authentically in a way that stimulates visitor interest.
Gardens are living art forms and offer a natural association with other expressions of creative art. Appropriately, ‘Big Rock Dog’, the previous Supreme Award winner - a sculpture by Barry Lett - now resides at Ayrlies, as guardian for the gardens.
So it is a real pleasure for the McConnell family and McConnell Property to be able to sponsor the exhibition again this year, combining our interest in the Gardens with providing an opportunity to encourage New Zealand artists in their work, within the setting and ambience of the Auckland Botanic Gardens.
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PatronsDavid and Genevieve Becroft
Maggie and Bill Burrill
Garry and Judi Hadfi eld
Don and Dale Lambie
Event sponsorsStoneleigh Vineyards McConnell Property
Newstalk ZB and Easymix John Leech Framing Gallery
ASB Community Trust Manukau City Council
SupportersEleanor and Dick Lane
Barry Ferguson
Elizabeth Williams
Thanks to our patrons, supporters and sponsors We are grateful to the following people for their support of Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens 2009/10.
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Event organisersThe Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens
Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Botanic Gardens
And behind the scenes, as part of vital teams or out of the goodness of their heart, these people have contributed to Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens: Jan and Sharon at Snapper Graphics, Liz Powell and Byrdie Ayres, Richard Mathieson, Alexa Johnston, Lisa Reihana, Leo Jew, Dereck Owens and Café Miko, Chester Nicholls of Sweetshots, Barbara Cox and the Manukau Festival of Arts 2009, Jack Hobbs, Kim Stretton, Glen Carter, Kerry Gillbanks and the Auckland Botanic Gardens visitor services team, Maggie Barry, Peter Webb, Marte Szirmay, Cr Sandra Coney, Aleysha Pangari, Glen, Marisa and Cathy at Pernod Ricard, Rachel, Nancy and Tony at McConnell Property and Emma at The Radio Network.
Last, but by no means least, we must thank our volunteers. These are the people that help us behind the desk, at the information carts and out and about in the gardens with a cheerful smile – we couldn’t do this without you.
Thank you.
AcknowledgementsThe planning and preparation for this exhibition began on 1 February 2008 – the day after the inaugural Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens closed. We would like to thank all of the people who have been involved in creating this event.
Richard Wedekind
Christine Hellyar
Colleen Ryan-Priest
Tui Hobson
Bing Dawe
John Edgar
Chris Hargreaves
Phil Newbury
Aiko Groot
Peter Lange
Jamie Pickernell
David McCracken
Jeff Thomson
Phil Neary
Gaye Jurisich
Todd Butterworth
Russell Beck
Fiona Garlick
Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi
Barry Lett
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