Incredi-bull mechanical beast
It stands at 2.8m tall, weighs 1.9 tonnes, features a gearbox in one arm, a lawnmower engine in the other and two vases as giant testicles.
The transformer-style Waikatomade bull has been turning heads since its creator, artist Adrian Worsley, put the finishing touches on the mammoth structure earlier this year.
The Te Aroha man was commissioned by Taylor Corporation, an apple growing, packing and exporting company, to make the giant bull which will soon sit outside the company’s headquarters in Napier.
Worsley says the client wanted something similar to theWall Street Bull in New York.
The Waikato version has an aggressive stance, to represent power and strength, Worsley says.
The bull took six months to plan and a further 12 months to construct.
Scrap metal and car parts were sourced from Worsley’s own stockpile at his studio.
The workshop itself is immaculate. His collection of metal objects, ranging from typewriters, signs, nuts, bolts, motors, springs, spanners, number plates and more, is meticulously ordered into sections.
That’s just the way he likes to work. He admits he has a slight ‘‘OCD’’ tendency but it’s about having things in order, so he knows exactly where in the workshop to go to retrieve a particular part.
He doesn’t usually include car parts in his work but the client collects cars and he thought it would be a good touch.
‘‘There’s all sorts in the there, bath tubs, lawn mowers, engines, chair legs and gas bottles.’’
Music is a big part of the creative process for Worsley. Record albums adorn the walls of his spotless workshop and there’s also an impressive CD and tape collection in his office which he often puts to good use.
Music rang through the workshop when a project began.
‘‘When I’m working, I usually like to have very loud, heavy metal music playing, the louder the better, just to get things going.
‘‘That’s the way I worked when I started on the bull.’’
Worsley admits it is the biggest and most expensive piece he’s worked on.
‘‘At first I thought I had taken on more than what I could manage but it’s worked out ok.
‘‘We are getting more interest in the bigger pieces now, got quite a few inquiries in the pipeline to look at.’’
The client for this particular piece visited Te Aroha over the past year to watch the bull take form and decided to give it the artist’s surname, ‘‘Worsley’’.
The artist was humbled by the accolade and will oversee its installation in Napier during Queen’s Birthday weekend.
He says feedback from the public on the unique artwork has been positive. It’s proved to be a great marketing tool for his work and a talking point.
‘‘We’ve taken the bull all over the Waikato and up to Auckland.
‘‘We deliberately got stuck in traffic in Auckland so people in their cars could pull up next to us and take a look.’’
Worsley remembers getting the nod of approval from members of the Mongrel Mob as they drove past while up in Auckland, too.
‘‘We showed it in galleries up there but the most interesting feedback we got was just from people in the street.’’
Worsley says people spent a lot of time looking at the bull, identifying its various parts and working out how it was constructed. He enjoyed talking about the creation and seeing people’s reactions.
‘‘Some of the best feedback we’ve had has also been here in Te Aroha. People have really got in behind my work, given a lot of support and taken an interest.’’
That was certainly the case when the bull made a guest appearance at the opening of the new MatamataPiako Memorial and Civic Centre in May.
For a while, it’s been parked outside his studio in Te Aroha, on a trailer, waiting for its new owner to come and tow it away to Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘We’re going to take it to Taupo¯ together, and park up there for a while to let everyone have a look. It’ll then go to Napier and I will be there on Queen’s Birthday weekend to help install it.’’
Worsley grew up in Te Aroha and left college when he was 15 years old to start work on a dairy farm.
He enjoyed art at school but didn’t think of it as a career option until he was about 30.
‘‘I was farming but later got a job as a fitter/welder and did the stainless trade [at Piako Stainless] as well, working with sheet metal, pipe work.
‘‘I also used to buy houses and restore them.’’
He managed to incorporate some of those career skills to become a fulltime artist.
‘‘I am self-taught and basically started making artwork for cafes and bars, like Ironique Cafe in Te Aroha.
‘‘A lot of artists are doing that now around New Zealand and it’s a good way to start out.’’
Worsley opened his studio in Te Aroha about eight years ago.
‘‘There are two ways you can go with art. You can go through the galleries or open up your own. If you go through a gallery, they can take up to 60 per cent for commission.
‘‘So I decided to open up my own gallery, market it myself and it’s paid off in the long run.’’
Commission work now takes up the bulk of his time. So much so that he let another Te Aroha artist, friend Julia O’Sullivan, use the gallery for her work.
‘‘I just can’t keep up with the commission work now but I’m lucky I have people in place to help me with the business side of things.
‘‘Yeah my work is paying the bills, but as for making money, I’m not so sure.
‘‘But it’s never been about the money but a lifestyle that I wanted. I just wanted to do something that I loved.’’
‘‘When I’m working, I usually like to have very loud, heavy metal music playing, the louder the better, just to get things going. That’s the way I worked when I started on the bull.’’
Adrian Worsley