Kerikeri artist with global reputation next speaker in Sounds Interesting series

Northland artist Chris Booth and intern Isa Brinkman work on a sculpture near the Dutch city of Leeuwarden. The artwork is 7m tall and celebrates fungi, "the greatest recyclers on the planet". Photo / Peter de Graaf

A Kerikeri sculptor with a global reputation will be next month's speaker in a new series of talks at the Turner Centre by Northlanders with interesting tales to tell.

Sounds Interesting kicked off this month with a talk by globetrotting couple Bridget Thackwray and Topher Richwhite of Expedition Earth.

Next up will be environmental artist Chris Booth, whose large-scale works of land art can be seen worldwide including in the Netherlands, Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Canada and Australia.

Closer to home he is responsible for Te Whiringa o Manoko on Kerikeri Domain and the Rainbow Warrior Memorial at Matauri Bay.

He has also designed a climate-change-themed sculpture, Te Haa o te Ao, due to be built at Kerikeri roundabout with funding from the Provincial Growth Fund.

Northland sculptor Chris Booth with his Gateway sculpture in Auckland's Albert Park. Photo / Natalie Slade

Turner Centre marketing manager Iris Klapwijk said her plan was to hold a Sounds Interesting session every two months.

The Chris Booth event, from 7pm on May 28, would include a 45-minute presentation with a slideshow covering his key works around the globe plus visionary new works in the pipeline, followed by a Q&A with the audience and a meet-and-greet afterwards.

Booth's other standout works include the 18m-high Gateway sculpture in Auckland's Albert Park, Echo van de Veluwe at the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands, and the 400-tonne Wurrungwuri in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens.

Engagement with indigenous peoples is a key part of his work.

■ Go to www.turnercentre.co.nz for ticket information.