Proposal to turn bridge upside down

NEW WORLD: Northern Advocate photographer Michael Cunningham took this image by replicating a camera obscura with a small pinhole in a piece of cardboard which replaces the camera lens.

Hatea Loop walkers may be able to go into a dark room inside a sculpture and see Te Matau a Pohe upside down and back to front.

Local artists Diane Stoppard, Trish Clarke and Felicity Christian have put a proposal to the Whangarei District Council asking permission to build an interactive sculpture containing the device that led to photography and the camera - a camera obscura.

Ms Stoppard, a Whangarei photographer, said the camera obscura would add a different element to the loop.

"It's a really cool piece of science for all ages. Adults are often cynical and think it won't work and go in there and see it and think; wow. It's remarkable," she said.

Ms Stoppard said it was hard to explain the science behind the camera obscura.

"Okay so imagine you're in a dark room with a hole the size of the punchhole behind you. The light would bounce off the top of the bridge and go through the hole all the way to the floor of the room and light will bounce off the grass and go through the hole all the way to the top of the ceiling. You'll be seeing the bridge upside down and back to front," she said.

Ms Stoppard said she hoped the obscura would be a chance to combine old technology and new technology.

"So we want to put a webcam inside facing the [projection] that links to a website so 24/7 you can see the bridge online. We also want to have an area where people can stand outside, in front of the hole, and go on their phones to the website and be able to see themselves upside down," she said.

Ms Stoppard said the design of the camera obscura would have to be striking.

"We want to use the art of Trish Clarke to the exterior of the sculpture - she does this brilliant work using laser work to create patterns and silhouettes. It'd have to be something that looked amazing or nothing at all," she said.

Ms Stoppard said the project was in early stages but so far she'd received "great" feedback from the council and had a meeting next week with them to further discuss the project.

"We can't build on their land without their permission. We're not asking for funding. Once we know what we can do, we'll look into designs and costs for the project," she said.