Change of heart on harbour art

By FELICITY BROWN

An artist who was given permission to build giant toetoe sculptures in the Waitemata Harbour has now been told to remove them or risk five years in prison or a $100,000 fine.

The Auckland Regional Council has told Christian Nicholson his exhibition of 5m tall toetoe in Waitemata Harbour is a biosecurity threat, because it could spread the noxious weed pampas grass.

The Milford artist received permission from the ARC to install his sculptures for two weeks, and was shocked to receive the letter from the council's biosecurity department.

When Nicholson was given permission for his "experiment", he was dealing with a separate branch of the regional council.

When members of the public expressed concern over the art work, the biosecurity department became involved.

The exhibition has 50 "toetoe" planted in a row leading out to sea. They are made of 5m bamboo poles with 30 pampas grass shoots strapped to the top. The structures are spray painted.

Nicholson has agreed to remove them at the end of this week.

The ARC's biosecurity manager, Steve Hix, says the warning letter contained the relevant sections of the Biosecurity Act.

"It's only fair we let people know what the consequences are."

The pampas grass had not been mentioned when permission was sought for the exhibition.

The council has allowed several other of Nicholson's pampas grass works to be built in the same area.

One was removed when the Department of Conservation told him he was interrupting a bird feeding line and his exhibition was "giving the birds the willies".

"Bureaucratic red tape often gets in the way of your artistic expression," said Nicholson.

Mr Hix says pampas grass is a threat to surrounding waste ground and cliff faces, although Nicholson gathered his grass only 100m from where it is now exhibited.

"We don't want to encourage people shifting pest plant material," Mr Hix said.

The row of sculptures is next to the North Shore approach to the Harbour Bridge.

The regional council says it has received complaints about the exhibition. They included claims that it blocked the view, and that calling a noxious weed by a Maori name was culturally insensitive.

But the artist says a number of people have telephoned him to express their appreciation of the work.

"To those two people who complained there's about 15,000 people who supported it," he said.

He has created six other pampas grass installations at different locations, including Muriwai Beach, Karekare, Milford and Mangawai.