‘Mesmerising’ sculpture a homecoming for artist
Artist Phil Price has sculptures on display around the world, and now he finally has one in his home town.
Family Tree, using Price’s signature kinetic sculpture style, has been erected in Nelson’s Rutherford Park.
The Nelson artist put the work together on Monday with the help of Shane Pemberton, but its official unveiling will take place tonight.
Passers-by said the work was ‘‘Dr Seuss-like’’, ‘‘amazing’’, and ‘‘mesmerising’’ to watch.
The carbon fibre sculpture is one that Price said he had been perfecting and ‘‘evolving’’ over the course of his career.
‘‘Many years ago I made a sculpture that had these disc-like filaments stacked on each other, then had the idea of having branch-like pieces – in fact that one is on the [Auckland] Viaduct. I’ve tried to do more [with this concept] from here, but I don’t know if there’s anything more I can do.’’
The sculpture is the first public work Price, who is now based in Christchurch and Melbourne, has displayed in his home town. This despite him being an internationally renowned artist with sculptures in countries around the world and on display in Christchurch (Nucleus), Wellington (Wind Wand) and Auckland.
The Nelson sculpture’s commission and installation was funded by the City of Nelson Civic Trust. Its cost has not been made public.
Trust chair Roger Nicholson said there was a reason it had taken so long for Price to have a sculpture commissioned by the Civic Trust.
‘‘A friend one day said, ‘Why don’t you have one of Phil Price’s sculptures in the city?’ And I said: Who’s Phil Price?’’
Nicholson said despite knowing of Price’s parents, who he said were ‘‘quite well known’’ in the community, he had never made the connection to Price the sculptural artist.
As soon as he realised, Nicholson said he contacted Price and ‘‘it just happened’’.
It took some time, though, with the original commission in place from the end of 2015. Nicholson said he had stored one of the ‘‘leaves’’ of the sculpture in his own garage for a time.
‘‘The Civic Trust, our whole role is to give gifts, to do this sort of thing.’’