Sculptor Regan Gentry with plans for the spinifex sculpture. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER
Sculptor Regan Gentry with plans for the spinifex sculpture. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER
A 130m long pa site and a 8m tall spinifex costing $200,000 will soon be installed at the Papamoa gateway to the Tauranga Eastern Link.
The two sculptures, created by Regan Gentry, will sit on either side of the new highway near the Domain Rd interchange.
The spinifex, created frompower poles, will sit on the beach side of the road near the Tara Rd roundabout and the pa site, created from metal road barriers and timber poles, will sit on the Papamoa Hills side of the road close to the Domain Rd roundabout.
Mr Gentry said the concept for the sculptures was based on his visits to the area.
"I spent some time in the area looking at what takes your interest and what stands out. Papamoa Regional Park definitely stands out as a significant place in the area for me. I really liked how so many people used it, every time I went there I was always surprised by how many people were staggering around up there."
The spinifex sculpture was a later addition after consultation with relevant groups. Mr Gentry said he was sourcing the materials from national company CSP Pacific, which specialises in creating safety barriers, street lighting and signage.
He had worked with the company to design the size and construction of the project. The pa site's metal barriers will slot in together, then will be bolted into the timber poles that will be rammed into the ground.
The spinifex sculpture will sit on a large concrete base.
He and a team of about five people will be putting the two sculptures together in about six week's time. He said it would take between 10 days and two weeks for both to be completed.
Artist's impressions of the spinifex and pa site sculptures. GRAPHICS/SUPPLIED
NZ Transport Agency senior project manager Wayne Troughton said Mr Gentry was chosen from a shortlist of four artists who had submitted proposals for sculptures.
Mr Gentry's stood out from the rest because it was "appropriate for the environment". The criteria for the works was they needed to be instantly recognisable from the road.
"So when people are driving down the road, they aren't staring at the art instead of focusing on the road."
The new sculptures will join other artworks and urban design elements already in place along the TEL, such as the waharoa which overlooks the new Paengaroa roundabout, or the panels on the Domain Road interchange that reflect the historic flax trade.
