'He iti te matakahi, pakaru rikiriki te tōtara

A wedge may be small, but it can fragment the tōtara'

In artist Arekatera Maihi's narrative, the first wedge represents the forward thinking of Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei tupuna, Te Kawau, gifting a parcel of land to Hobson to secure a safe future for his people.  The second wedge tells of the disrespect shown by the further sectioning and sales of the same land.  One hundred years after Te Kawau gifted 3000 acres of land, his iwi was left with two acres, this is the third wedge.  The last wedge represents the rebuilding of his iwi in assets, in commercial ventures and cultural capabilities.

This artwork marks the regional significance of Taurarua Judges Bay as part of the original parcel of land gifted in the formation and colonial settlement of Auckland in 1840.  The commission plays an important place-making role for Tāmaki Makaurau in acknowledging the historical boundary of Taurarua Judges Bay in the early formation of the city.

Taurarua

Overlooking the harbour and city from Fred Ambler Lookout in Parnell, the large, ladder-like forms of this artwork represent the sails, masts and cranes that mark Auckland's skyline. The ambitious sculpture was created by late Mexican artist Helen Escobedo in 1971, as part of an International Sculpture Symposium commemorating Auckland’s centenary.



*Signals* consists of four 15-metre-high stainless steel towers, each with four sets of rungs that are coloured with vivid diagonal flashes of blue, yellow and red. While this is a large-scale work, it still has an element of lightness as it moves in the wind above the port, railway and Waitematā Harbour.



Escobedo is well-known for her site-specific works, with an ability to capture the essence of the places where her works reside. *Signals* both acknowledges and fits in with its location, the open design allowing the natural and environmental elements to help complement the work.





"I'm interested not in putting up a sort of monument to somebody, but to making the city more beautiful. And I'm not really afraid of using the word 'function' in sculpture – I believe sculpture should be functional", said Escobedo in the short film, *Four Shapes for Four Spaces*, which documented the installation of the centenary artworks.

Signals

The name of this park and the basalt rocks used in the central feature are both linked with the history of Auckland. On 1st April 1940 Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), now Air New Zealand, pioneered the first trans Tasman air service from nearby Mechanics Bay.

Artist Guy Ngan was commissioned to design the park's layout which he described as a stone sculpture garden. The basalt rocks used were originally built into the Auckland dock in 1878 between Hobson and Albert streets. Later these blocks became part of the Eastern tide wall when the seabed in this area was reclaimed for the container terminal. The rocks now stand as a tangible link with the history of the Port of Auckland.

The park was provided by the Auckland Harbour Board and the design of the feature was sponsored by Air New Zealand to commemorate their 30th Anniversary in 1970.

Teal Park Rocks

This bridge adds a striking design feature to the landscape of Tāmaki Drive, linking the Judges Bay foreshore and Parnell Baths. The hull-shaped deck refers to the maritime environment and the harbour beyond, with glass sides and a wave-like ribbon of steel running throughout. It extends out over the harbour, making a great viewing platform, with patterned motifs significant to local iwi sweeping across the artwork.

Artist Henriata Nicholas designed a pattern featuring pūngarungaru (ripple) designs, which speak of movement and water; echoing the fluid, sinuous form and the movement of traffic through and over the bridge. This pattern is engraved into the concrete beam as well as the glass sides. Nicholas drew on traditional Māori whakairo (carved patterns) to create the custom design, reinterpreting them in a contemporary way so as to echo the modern architecture of the bridge. Nicholas' elongated waka-like (canoe-like) design responds to the coastal location and surrounding islands as well as its pre-European cultural history as the site of a Māori pā (fortified village).

*Point Resolution Bridge / Taurarua* was a collaboration between the artist and architects Warren and Mahoney. The artwork received the 2014 International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Arekatera Katz Maihi

Taurarua

"This Corten steel adze looks out over the water at Taurarua Judges Bay, Parnell."

Artwork details

Production date

Medium

Dimensions

Credit line

Description

Location

Artworks near this one