Karangahape Road Fountain

As life at the busy intersection of Karangahape Road and Symonds Street swirls around them, two characters sit casually with their faces raised to the sun. Cast in bronze, the life-sized figures have been fixtures at Pigeon Park since 1969. The roughly sculpted figures are central to this large-scale bronze artwork. Behind them are three abstract disc forms, which artist Greer Twiss based on rocks in a riverbed or foreshore.

The Auckland-based artist shaped a seat for his bronze figures in one of the discs and the remaining two discs also feature cutaways. This allows the whole work to open up and become part of its surroundings, because although the piece is static, the light and shadows are constantly changing throughout the day. Decades into its life, the sculpture has now weathered to the familiar greenish colour of bronze that has been exposed to the elements. It covers nearly five metres, sitting within a circle of brickwork so that the edges form another circle, like a picture frame. The background of green grass and trees forms a tranquil setting in this urban location.

Twiss is one of New Zealand’s most respected artists. He was a pioneer of cast metal in New Zealand at the time he created Karangahape Road Fountain (sometimes known as Karangahape Rocks in recent years) and was rapidly emerging as a distinctive voice in contemporary New Zealand sculpture. As his first public commission, it was pivotal to his career and success. This work also incorporates a fountain, which was switched on by Mayor Dove Meyer Robinson in April of 1969.