Set in Jellicoe Plaza and close to the Waitematā Harbour, this much-loved, modernist stainless steel sculpture has a timelessness that visitors of all ages enjoy. Viewers see different aspects as they move around the work, also mirrored in the water below. And in summer there are often children laughing and splashing beneath the sculpture, as light is reflected up through the metal trusses.

Designed to move and swing with the wind, the design was developed in Auckland by Japanese-American architectural sculptor Michio Ihara, during the 1971 International Sculpture Symposium. The initial design proved too expensive to produce, so Ihara redesigned it on his return to the United States.

After six years of negotiating, fundraising and a change of location (originally intended for the Auckland Domain), *Wind Tree* was finally installed in Queen Elizabeth Square in 1977. It stayed there for 25 years and became an iconic part of the inner city, until it had to be carefully taken apart and put into storage in 2002 to make way for the Britomart Rail Station redevelopment and square upgrade. Then in 2011 *Wind Tree* found a new home, as a central point in the new Wynyard Quarter development, standing over a shallow pool designed by Wraight Associates Ltd and Taylor Cullity Lethlean.

Wind Tree

Installed at Silo Park for a limited time this summer, Palm Hoop #2 features a regulation basketball hoop and a black onyx backboard and fixes them to an uprooted, self-watered and fertilised palm tree (*Livistona australis*). The tree's root ball, encased in plastic and secured to a concrete slab, is visibly deformed under the weight of the frame – its curve suggesting a dialogue between the organic and the manufactured. The palm, seemingly untroubled by its new role, becomes part of the game.

Artist Mike Hewson, with a background in structural engineering and heavy civil construction, creates installations that blend art, play, risk, and social interaction. The work invites visitors to engage in play while prompting reflection on the rules and values of public space. It encourages us to consider how we navigate and interact with the world around us.

*Palm Hoop #2* is presented by Michael Lett Gallery in collaboration with Auckland Council and Eke Panuku Development Auckland.

Palm Hoop #2

These interactive sculptures invite people to the water’s edge to enjoy the movement, colour and sounds of Waitematā Harbour. Based on the ventilation funnels and speaking tubes used on ships, they transform the North Wharf into an old ship deck.



Located in three clusters along the wharf, people can climb inside, play and speak into the highly polished stainless steel funnels. Some are large enough to sit in and others go below the wharf and down to the sea. Two of the smaller funnels are connected so people can speak to each other from a distance. While these sculptures are designed for having fun, they’re also a reminder of the waterfront’s history and its role as an active shipping harbour.



*Sounds of Sea* was designed by Company, the Finnish-Korean design duo of Johan Olin and Aamu Song, who were commissioned to come up with a concept that responded to Auckland’s unique waterfront. They were inspired by the hollow structure of the wharf, intrigued by the ebb and flow of Auckland’s tide - which can rise and fall as much as 3.5 metres - and captivated by the blue-green colour of the water.

Sounds of Sea

This series of cast concrete tidal steps lead down to the water's edge from Karanga Plaza in Wynyard Quarter.  The artwork forms a pair with [*The Flooded Mirror*](/artworks/3193),  a nearby sound work at the start of the  Wynyard Crossing pedestrian bridge between Karanga Plaza and Te Wero Island.



The tidal steps of *Silt Line* are covered and uncovered with the rise and fall of the tide. The pattern running across the steps reflects the clusters of sound heard in  *The Flooded Mirror* and mimics the tidal ebb and flow of the water.



Created in collaboration with architecture firm Hillery Taylor, this public art project was one of a series of commissions for the new North Wharf promenade leading in to Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter.  The steps have become a popular place for Aucklanders to dip their toes into the Waitematā Harbour.





"The pattern on the steps of *Silt Line* are open enough to imply scientific diagrams of complex theories, or the strata and clusters of species evolution and of geological mapping," says Shearer.

Michio Ihara

Wind Tree

"This much-loved, modernist sculpture moves with the wind, standing over a shallow pool that children splash through on sunny days."

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