Silt Line

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, 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.