Two bronze birds have recently been installed locally, designed by Palmerston North sculptor Paul Dibble, to celebrate Upper Hutt’s natural heritage. “Piwakawakawa” (fantail) and “Kereru” (wood pigeon) have been placed on traffic roundabouts on either end of Main Street. They have the look of timber about them, but are beautiful bronzes.
Bronze sculptures of fantail and wood pigeon
Paul Dibble is well know for his New Zealand Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, London. The memorial commemorates the relationship and the shared sacrifice of New Zealand and the United Kingdom during times of war. The work was a major commission involving the New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Defence Force, Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand the English Heritage and the Westminster City Council. We made a point of finding these bronzes in Hyde Park on our trip to UK in 2008. When viewed from this particular angle, white crosses appear on the top of each bronze.
New Zealand Memorial, Hyde Park Corner, London
Also newly installed in our fair city is “File” by Richard Wedekind, of Waiheke Island. This bronze of rather strangely shaped people has received quite a bit of criticism. I think they are “interesting” and bring a bit of humour to the street. What do you think of them?
All this new art in our CBD adds beauty and interest and is certainly a talking point. Good on the City Council for commissioning these works of art, I say.
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