The Girls’ School was one of 16 schools in Auckland to be selected to be part of the NZ Sculpture On Shore Exhibition this month. The event is one of New Zealand’s largest, iconic and vibrant outdoor sculpture exhibitions that is held at the spectacular Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve on Auckland’s North Shore.

Our talented Year 5 artists were selected to take part in the event which raises money for Women’s Refuge with their ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ exhibition. They worked hard over the term creating 3D papier-mache bugs, beetles, spiders and butterflies for inclusion.

Having their work displayed at the exhibition was an exciting achievement for the girls, especially when they travelled to Takapuna to see their work next to 100 large scale pieces made by some of New Zealand’s best artists! The sun was beaming as the girls set out to investigate the variation of artwork on display. Hundreds of sculptures were purposely placed on the reserve’s bank with the open water and city skylines complementing their work. 

The girls spent two hours wondering the paths looking at the different ways that artists portrayed their work and expressed their creativity. One of their favourite pieces was a beautifully sculptured fist enclosing a bird called, ‘Fist that knew’ by Joshua Olley. This incredible piece represented social and human behaviours and symbolised protection in times of challenge, and how it is important to nurture rather than resort to anger. 

Another piece the girls liked was called, ‘Water Lily’ by Darren Wise. This was a kinetic artwork that turned into ‘sparkling beauty’. 

The girls also found ‘Shipley Bell’ by Michael Kennedy particularly interesting as he placed 103 small scale wax bell tents on sand. These represented the tents that were used by the Anzacs in WW1. 

The girls’ exhibition of bugs was on display in the Fort Tunnels - a unique, dark, underground environment which complemented their work. 

Art Specialist, Diana Roband said ‘Being involved with NZ Sculpture Onshore was a lot of work but was worth it. To see the look on the students' faces yesterday when they stepped into the tunnels was fantastic. They were all thrilled to see their sculptures together in the bush scene.’ 

The outing was both an educational and inspirational introduction to contemporary sculpture in New Zealand. A big congratulations to all the Year 5 students for their great achievement and fantastic work! 

Click here to view the gallery

Tags

• Arts,
• EOTC

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