Waiheke Island sculpture trail features art on grand scale

Detail from Phil Price's Forbidden Tree, 2016.

You may not know his name, but chances are you'll know artist Phil Price's work.

Price makes wind-activated kinetic sculptures which stand tall in public spaces around the world: Nucleus in Victoria, Australia; Snake in Aarhus, Denmark and at Auckland International Airport, and Cytoplasm at the Waitemata Plaza in the Viaduct.

His work is in collections throughout Australia and New Zealand, North America and Europe. Price has exhibited in more than 20 major outdoor exhibitions and his solo exhibition Fulcrum toured internationally to great acclaim.

In his state-of-the-art workshop in Sydenham, Christchurch, he's crafting another of his highly engineered and seamlessly created works. It's for Headland: Sculpture on the Gulf, which is held every two years on Waiheke Island.

From almost 250 initial proposals, double the number received in 2015, the event's Cultural Programme Committee selected 34 "concepts" it felt represented a "unique contribution and reflection of the cultural life of Aotearoa New Zealand". The 2017 line-up includes Price, Virginia King and Gregor Kregar, while noted artists such as Maureen Lander, Tiffany Singh and Dane Mitchell make their Headland Sculpture on the Gulf debut.

Started in 2003 by the Waiheke Community Art Gallery, Headland has grown into the country's foremost outdoor sculpture exhibition and features major sculptures along a spectacular 2-kilometre coastal walk above Matiatia Bay.

Price hasn't taken part in Headland for several years. Cytoplasm was made for the first Sculpture on the Gulf, but he liked the sound of plans to require artists to produce work specifically for the event, and its focus on established and early-career NZ artists.

The director of cultural programmes for Headland, Zara Stanhope, says the event is taking a slightly new direction, with art reflecting on how the idea of sculpture has expanded to comprise other forms.

"There is also a proportion of works that involve artists engaging directly with the public in ways that are collaborative, participatory and involve people as the medium or material of the work. The works proposed by these artists will offer a platform for a deeper understanding of what sculpture and art is today.

"A number of artists are aiming for some of the most ambitious works to be seen in Headland Sculpture on the Gulf."

Price says he's creating Forbidden Tree, a 5m moving tree, which looks like a canopy or umbrella with numerous layers of branches.

"I was in the very first Headland Sculpture on the Gulf and it was a pretty ambitious undertaking for me," he recalls. "I went out on a limb and it proved to be the start of something."

More than 55,000 people are expected to visit next year's headline exhibition.

* Waiheke Island is also home to Connells Bay Sculpture Park which is open until April with walks around the park available by appointment. The park was established by John and Jo Gow, the founding benefactors of Headland Sculpture on the Gulf. In recognition of their contribution to the arts, the Gows received The Arts Foundation's Award for Patronage at the 2016 New Zealand Art Awards. They received $20,000 to give to artists or arts organisations of their choice and chose to add $20,000 of their own money to this. They donated to The Big Idea, Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust, Q Theatre and Headland Sculpture on the Gulf.