Aramoana 1982, reconstructed 2006. Mixed media.

Artist: Chris Booth.

Hotere Garden Oputae, Constitution St, Port Chalmers Dunedin

Photo: Mike O’Kane

TURNING to the left, we see Chris Booth’s Aramoana (1982), an imposing sight. In form it is reminiscent of a ship’s mast and rigging, minus the sail. The vertical central pole bears its name, carved into the wood. The horizontal beams that project outwards in various directions feature long strings of shells and other beach symbols, further highlighting the specificity of p lace. The reference to the vessels that brought us here and that remain central to the life of Port Chalmers is melded with an environmental message. This piece, too, responds to an important local ecological fight with which both Booth and Hotere were involved. The plan to build an aluminium smelter at Aramoana so appalled many citizens of the area that they declared their independence and created passports, stamps and other symbols of their dispute with the State.

 text copyright Jo Campbell

Supplementary information (from conversations with Russell Moses and Mary McFarlane)

 ARAMOANA

Chris Booth was the Francis Hodgkins Fellow at the time, and he was encouraged by Ralph Hotere to build this his first monumental work. Ralph further helped facilitate its creation by providing a site at Observation Point. This is a site-specific work, the title partly refers to the view of Aramoana previously obtained from the sculpture.

Addressing public safety concerns, barbed wire has had to be installed.

Originally Aramoana was bedecked with considerably more flotsam and jetsam, including bones and a wind chime.

From the plaque-

Chris Booth (b. 1948) Kerikeri

ARAMOANA

1982

Reconstructed 2006

Hotere Foundation Trust

They do cut down the poles that hold up the sky. 1989

Artist: Shona Rapira Davies

Location:  Hotere Garden Oputae, Constitution Street, Port Chalmers Dunedin

[ The following text is copyright Jo Campbell]

SHONA RAPIRA DAVIES, who is of Ngati Wai descent, often references Maori mythology in her work and this piece (left) is no exception. In They do cut down the poles that hold up the sky (1989), she depicts a male figure standing on his head, with his legs pushed up into the sk^y, evoking the Maori creation myth in which Ranginui and Papatuanuku are pushed apart by their son Tane, god of the forest.

The title, with its use of the pronoun “they”, makes comment on the ecological crimes of Pakeha settlers, who decimated forests in their seemingly endless quest for arable land.

From the plaque-

Shona Rapira Davies (b. 1951) Ngati Wai

THEY DO CUT DOWN THE POLES THAT HOLD UP THE SKY

1989

Hotere Foundation Trust.

BRICK COLUMN. 1991, reconstructed 2006

Artist: Russell Moses

Location: Hotere Garden Oputae,Constitution St, Port Chalmers Dunedin

Photo, Mike O’Kane

 [The following text was contributed by Russell Moses]

The kiln-like shape of Brick Column reflects the history of the bricks.

A site-specific work constructed largely from the bricks which had comprised a kiln made by potter Barry Brickel. Prior to this they had been brought to Dunedinas ballast fromScotland in early sailing ships.

The found object iron bar atop the column is a relic of the working/shipbuilding port. The bar previously rotated on its own axis in a strong wind as a compass of sorts; it now points to the dock area where the bricks originally landed.

The column was originally constructed, free standing and self-supporting, but when reconstructed in 2006, was made with mortar in line with public access and safety concerns.

[The following text is copyright Jo Campbell]

BRICK COLUMN (1991), by Port Chalmers artist Russell Moses, is a round tower-like work constructed from recycled bricks and a long rusty rod, which balances precariously across the top. The initial sense of uniformity one gets from the tower is quickly displaced as the viewer notices the individual features of the bricks. Bricks are symbolic of the land from which they are made but also of human attempts to shape and control that land. The tower evokes a sense of balance and harmony but also impermanence. Moses seems to embrace this transience, so at odds with the history of human endeavours.

 From the plaque-

RUSSELL MOSES (b. 1948) Palmerston North

BRICK COLUMN

1991

Reconstructed 2006

Hotere Foundation Trust