$500,000 gift for Kerikeri art

Chris Booth

A major artwork by sculptor Chris Booth has been commissioned in Kerikeri after an anonymous donor came up with $500,000.

The Far North District Council expects the work, standing more than 10m with boulder columns with bronze elements, to become a significant public artwork.

It will have a base diameter of about 16m, featuring five stone columns, more than 100 boulders, bronze elements up to 3m tall, and a cascading water feature. It will take 12 months to complete and will be sited as a centrepiece in the redeveloped Kerikeri Domain in 2008.

The anonymous $500,000 donor is described only as a local benefactor and patron of the arts.

Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp said the donor had asked that the artwork be sited in central Kerikeri.

Given its size and stature, the domain was a logical choice to allow the work to be suitably displayed, Mrs Sharp said.

Chris Booth, a Kerikeri sculptor, is known for his works in natural stone. His larger works have been described as feats of engineering and balance that sit comfortably in their surroundings.

They include the Echo van de Veluwe at the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands, the entrance portal to Albert Park in Auckland, Nga uri o Hinetuparimaunga at Hamilton Gardens and the Rainbow Warrior Memorial at Matauri Bay.