The Kaupapa (purpose) of this site is maumahara aroha (a loving tribute) to the former stream and cultural landscape. Through physical elements and digital media, people can rest and understand the space. You can see, hear and learn onsite by using the QR code. The media features Hone Tuwhare’s poem The river is an Island in English and Te Reo Māori, a video interview with the designers and historic maps.
Larkin’s 143-meter-long, multi-storey wall consisting over 13,500 terracotta tiles spans Hobson to Nelson Streets and through the future laneway of the Conference Centre.
It complements the other major artworks on the site, 550 glass panels by Sara Hughes and Lyonel Grant’s waka that will be suspended within.
The undulating raranga (weaving) patterns symbolise navigation and Tāmaki Makaurau’s abundance of natural resources and its geography, particularly the many water ways.
Clark’s Hinuera stone pieces are sculptural representations of the anchors of the Matahourua and Tainui waka (canoes) installed at the Bledisloe building in 1959. The sculptures celebrate the great navigations of each waka.
Kupe, navigator of the Matahourua discovered Aotearoa (New Zealand) and returned to Hawaiiki with navigational directions which many waka followed over future generations. The Tainui landed in the Bay of Plenty area and then sailed on to the Waitematā. It portaged into the Manukau and sailed south to Raglan, Kawhia and Mōkau.
These pieces introduced adventurous contemporary sculptural forms to the public of the 1950s. Clark’s sculptures helped change attitudes toward art in public spaces with his use of distinctly Māori themes.
This Pare (ornamental lintel) was carved by Ngā Whaotapu o Tāmaki Makaurau (The Sacred Chisels of Auckland) - a collective of Tohunga Toi Ake (expert artists) formed in 2014 to preserve Māori history through carving. The group includes carvers from five tribal regions of Auckland with about 150 years of carving experience between them.
The lintel is made from 600-year-old kauri (native timber).
This work of three glass canopies inter-connect visually from one to the next. The integrated work complements the shape of the canopy structure and reflects patterns within the building.
The triangular motif takes its form from the traditional Māori tāniko weaving pattern known as ‘aramoana’. The variety of sizes and positions of the tāniko pattern suggest the protocol and hierarchy within the structure of the judicial system.
Sanford’s intention for the work is that it is approachable, gives a sense of purpose, dignity, stability, humanity, quality, and hope.