Wellington region's largest sculpture unveiled in Lower Hutt

The Wellington region's largest sculpture - made from 20 tonnes of steel - has been unveiled in Lower Hutt.

Lightwing, a 6m-high, 10m-wide structure created by businesses in the industrial area of Seaview, has been installed at the Seaview roundabout as a way of gaining recognition for the under appreciated suburb.

The $250,000 sculpture was unveiled on Tuesday night.

It is not as tall the Zephryometer wind sculpture in Evans Bay, but is larger in a different way, said Allan Brown of the E Tu Awakairangi Hutt Public Art Trust.

"It can take on a variety of meanings depending on which one you happen to choose," said Brown.

Lightwing is 10m wide and 6m high, made from 20 tonnes of steel. Photo / Melissa Nightingale

"It could be a bird's wing, you can kind of see feathers in it, or it could be a replication of the shape of the hills behind it, you've got that sort of undulation and valley approach. Or it could be just a wave breaking on the sea. And all of those things are typical parts of the Lower Hutt valley environment."

The artist behind Lightwing is Andrew Thomas - a Wellington production designer with a background in designing for theatre, film and new museum experience design.

MJH Engineering, Seaview Blasting, Dulux and GK Shaw Seaview helped keep costs down by building the steelwork, doing the installation, painting and blasting the sculpture.

"It's really an amazing way in which the business community and council have come together to achieve what I think will be a lasting and highly visible result," said Brown.

The artwork was created and installed in Seaview to showcase the area to people who did not realise the local businesses' contribution to the economy, he said.

The sculpture is designed to mimic the undulating hills around Lower Hutt. Photo / Melissa Nightingale