Chris Booth at work on his latest sculpture in Whangarei's Quarry Gardens.
Chris Booth at work on his latest sculpture in Whangarei's Quarry Gardens.
World renowned sculptor Chris Booth has been hard at work on his latest living sculpture, Te Wai U O Te Atakura, in Northland's popular subtropical destination at Whangarei Quarry Gardens.
Booth has been working on the piece with Rata Kapa over the past few months and it was completed recently when the final piece, a two-tonne stone, was hoisted by crane into place on top.
Chris Booth with his latest sculpture in Whangarei.
Te Parawhau hapu kaumatua Pari Walker, Fred Tito and Johnny Nathan blessed the sculpture with a dawn karakia and formally named the sculpture Te Wai U O Te Atakura – The Milk from the Breast of Te Atakura.
Atakura is the goddess/spiritual entity seen just as the sun rises, from the world of the dark and the ancient to the world of the light and the living, like the birth of a child.
Whangarei Quarry Gardens was generously gifted funds by a local philanthropist to go towards a permanent sculpture for the gardens.
Gardens manager David McDermott said the sculpture represented a new chapter in the gardens' story, one which staff, trustees and volunteers were excited about.
The new sculpture is seen as representing a new chapter in the gardens' story. Photo / John Stone
"The impressive scale, considered materiality and symbolic kaupapa of this work aligns beautifully with the gardens' aesthetic and vision. We wholeheartedly thank the donor for her generosity. We also thank Chris and Rata for sharing their passion and craft while on the site at the gardens," McDermott said.
Booth said the piece was fifth in a global series of Varder living sculptures. Varder is an old Nordic word for cairn.
Varder I and Varder II were built in Denmark in 1998, 20 years ago, and are still being consumed by the greatest recycler, fungi, as planned.
Varder I had moved only about one metre in that time.
Varder III and Varder IV are in the Netherlands, III is 14 years old and IV is 2 years old.
Detail on the new Chris Booth sculpture that has been installed at the Whangarei Quarry Gardens.
"The main living aspect is fungi, the greatest recycler on the earth and a vital organism for the health of the majority of plants and animals. In these living sculptures I collaborate with fungi," Booth said.
"The fungi consume the organic material causing the boulder to ever so slowly descend to the ground. Depending on the wood, it could take 70 years or more."
Booth, born in Kerikeri, is a New Zealand sculptor of large-scale land art and has participated in numerous land art projects and exhibitions internationally and created significant public sculpture commissions in New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, France and Canada.
