|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
light, that moves in sync with the wind, above the Panmure Basin, says the Auckland
Council.
Opening in late July with a dawn karakia, two sides of the Panmure lagoon are connected
again with an architecturally exceptional walking and cycling bridge.
It replaces an old bridge taken out of service in July 2023, the council says.
“The shared vision and partnership of Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust and the Maungakiekie Tāmaki
Local Board were central to the delivery of the new bridge, with Auckland Council Public Art
expertly integrating art into the infrastructure.”
Gifted by Ngāti Paoa, the bridge’s name is Te Kōpua o Hiku, says the council.
The story behind the name is shared by Drina Paratene.
“Te Kōpua o Hiku means The Deep Pool of Hiku, referring to the deep pool beneath the
bridge,” she says.
“The pool was once occupied by Moko-ika-hiku-waru, the lizard-fish with eight tails who is
the kaitiaki taniwha of the people of Ngāti Pāoa.”
The council’s head of arts and culture, Emily Trent, says the project is woven with the
manaakitanga of Ngāti Pāoa.
“Their kindness, care and willingness to share their history of this place has enriched the
outcome of the artwork and the bridge.
“It has enabled all of us to connect to this whenua,” says Trent.
The two artists commissioned for the project, Janine Williams and Shannon Novak, were
joined by lighting designer Morgann Le Bars of Norwich Group, and David Hayes of iion,
who built the data-driven technical brilliance of the lighting.
The lighting is programmed to spotlight the arches and balustrades of the bridge.
And with a weather station installed on-site, data from the prevailing wind is collected in real time and converted into a pattern of light pulsing with life across the bridge.
The lighting patterns play on the bridge every night from dusk until 10pm.
“The ‘breathing’ of the wind shown in the lighting is a metaphor for the breath of the local
tupuna (ancestors), kaitiaki taniwha and Aucklanders and visitors who enjoy the area,” says the council.
Māori and Croatian icons
(Ngāti Pākehā, he Tararā ia (Croatian)) have delivered a bi-cultural form of symbolism on the bridge deck and balustrades, says the council.
“Combining forms and shapes of Māori and Croatian descent, the pair has infused iconography of protection and belonging.
“In Croatian history, markings on the fingers and hands of children were sometimes applied during wartime to protect them and help them return home.
“Both cultures have histories where iconography – tā moko in Aotearoa – signifies belonging.”
Williams is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based urban contemporary artist of Māori, English and Scottish descent.
“Her 27-year career is a testament to the power of art as a vehicle for indigenous expression, community connection, and cultural preservation resonating with themes that highlight both natural and spiritual dimensions, while acknowledging her whakapapa connections,” the council says.
“Shannon explains that a unique relationship was struck between Māori and Dalmatian immigrants during the 19th century when working together in the kauri gum fields of the Far North.
“It was a relationship marked by mutual respect and resulted in the nickname Tararā, in reference to the fast-speaking Croatians.
“Being in the Croatian diaspora himself, Novak creates collaborative, socially engaged art to help reduce anxiety, depression, and suicide rates in queer communities globally.
“His work, spanning painting, photography, installation, sculpture, and curatorial practice, challenges heteronormative systems while fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion for queer identities,” says the council.
Interactive art
This is the fourth significant work of public art delivered by the team at the council in partnership with iwi and iion in the past decade, utilising data collected on-site in real time to add to the mystery and meaning of the art experience.
“Te Kōpua o Hiku is the latest innovation, where art meets technology, creating a beautiful and richly layered asset for Tāmaki Makaurau,” it says.
