Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark was shown around Te Puia's bronze foundry yesterday as part of her trip to Rotorua.
Miss Clark was shown the workshop by New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute director Karl Johnstone and was talked through the process of bronze casting the carvings.
Distinct to Rotorua, the casters also make use of the natural environment in Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley using water from the sulphur-chloride pools to patina the bronze.
Miss Clark said the carvings were a "visionary project".
"It is an enormous undertaking but it is a very exciting project. The design is unique in that it can be taken to any medium, including bronze."