Public sculpture installation must wait until next year

DUNEDIN’S latest public sculpture will not be installed in the Octagon until February at the earliest.

Dunedin City Council Ara Toi council initiatives relationship adviser Lisa Wilkie said Ayesha Green's Ko te Tuhono would require resource consent from the council, but due to the busy summer schedule for the Octagon it could not be installed until next year.

The exact location of the archway — announced in June as the public art selection panel’s choice from four finalists — would not be known until resource consent was complete.

At present, the artist was doing threedimensional scanning of the archway it was to be based on at Otakou marae.

The sculpture, which would be redochre coloured cast aluminium panels over a steel internal frame, would reference the original doorway at Otakou wharenui, Ms Wilkie said.

Ms Green was working with local companies to produce the various elements of the sculpture, she said.

Once assembled, the work would be powdercoated and would feature a quote from Otakou tupuna Hori Kerei Taiaroa which describes the ongoing relationship between mana whenua and the Otago Harbour.

Connecting the Otakou marae with modern Dunedin’s city centre was important for the artist, Ms Wilkie said.

‘‘That was a really big thing for her — it’s referencing the role that Otakou and mana whenua had in the area for centuries.

‘‘It is centering them right in the centre of the city.’’