Art to mark centennial

STARRY: A latticework of stars define the interactive Centennial Shield sculpture by leading Kiwi artist Virginia King that was created to help commemorate the upcoming centenary of St Matthew's Collegiate School. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED

An exclusive interactive sculpture from leading New Zealand artist Virginia King will help commemorate the upcoming centenary of St Matthew's Collegiate School in Masterton.

Auckland-based King will also travel to the school this month to talk about the process of commissioning the Centennial Shield interactive sculpture for the school, how a sculpture is created and how students can be part of the process.

Lynnette Field, chairwoman of the St Matthew's Collegiate School board, said the sculpture represented a unique tribute to the generations of students who had attended the school.

"Virginia King is a highly respected sculptor with work in private and public spaces in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. As a school, we love the way King's sculptures celebrate life in the South Pacific. It's part of who we are," Mrs Field said.

The commissioned artwork is "a sculpture of celebration", Mrs Field said, that included influences from the school motto Ad Astra per Aspera (To the Stars through Endeavour), the school emblem and the ancient St Matthew's cross from 600AD.

The sculpture will be sited on the flagpole lawn outside the school hall and features a disc of the night sky made wholly of a lattice of stars, which will allude to the rotation of seasons and galaxies. A central hub will pivot and be moveable either by hand or wind.

"This means the sculpture will be interactive and the students can rotate the major disc or inner form. They can quite literally reach for the stars."

The Centennial Shield will be the first work by Virginia King in the region and while remaining "under wraps for now", Mrs Field said, would be unveiled during the centennial celebrations in March next year.

The school will host an event at the school on October 18 entitled Introducing the Artist, at which King will speak to the general public and the school community for a $10 cover charge.

The event will run from 5.30pm and will be free to those who have made a donation to the sculpture project, which had been so far generously supported. Over half of the fundraising target had been reached, Mrs Field said.