Sight for 'saur' eyes? Taupō's newest sculpture has been unveiled at Riverside Park.
Sight for 'saur' eyes? Taupō's newest sculpture has been unveiled at Riverside Park.
Boom Boom the dinosaur, the first piece of a new sculpture park in the Waikato, was unveiled on Friday, causing quite a kerfuffle among locals.
The nearly 10m tall and $200,000 sculpture, made from mirror-polished stainless steel and sitting atop a geometric rock made from corten steel, is located at Taupō’s Riverside Park.
It was specially commissioned by the Taupō Sculpture Trust with trustee and local glass artist Christine Robb saying the trust wanted Boom Boom to create a buzz in Taupō.
“I think that’s happening,” Robb said.
On social media, posts about Boom Boom attracted a flood of comments.
A lot were critical of the sculpture with people questioning the dinosaur’s connection to Taupō and saying it was a “waste of ratepayer money”.
Amanda Maclaren described it as an “Eyesaur”, with Wendy Johnson commenting it looked “tacky ... and ridiculous”.
Maxine Hay commented: “Good god!! And how much did THAT MONSTROSITY COST”, while Lynette Clunie said it looked like “a cheap foil party balloon” for kids.
However, other people disagreed, saying it was “cool”.
Thea Davies commented: “Love it, brought a smile to my face when I saw it earlier - can’t wait to see what else gets added to the trail”.
Kimberley Gillies agreed. “He is fabulous! Well done Taupō Sculpture Trust.”
Boom Boom was created by Auckland-based artist Gregor Kregar and is the 13th artwork of Taupō’s sculpture trail, which starts on the lakefront near Rifle Range Rd, continues through the town and culminates at Riverside Park.
Artist Gregor Kregar with Boom Boom the dinosaur.
The park will be transformed into a dedicated sculpture park to revive the space, with Boom Boom being the first of 21 artworks Taupō Sculpture Trust hopes to add to the park over the next decade.
In Kregar’s concept art document, he explained the inspiration behind the piece was Taupō‘s environment.
“Taupō is an extremely important geological site and has produced two of the world’s largest eruptions.
“My work makes reference to this history and how it has shaped and influenced the area.”
The rock base would echo “the giant boulders that would have been ejected by the volcanic force of the Taupō eruptions”, while the Sauropod dinosaur would resonate “with the pre-historic history of the location”.
Kregar also said the style of the dinosaur was inspired by an inflatable toy to represent the town’s standing as a “playful holiday destination”.
As part of the 2018-28 long-term plan, Taupō District Council agreed to give the trust a one-off grant of $100,000 towards a “destination sculpture” provided the trust could raise the same amount.
A concept drawing of Boom Boom by Gregor Kregar.
Talking to the Waikato Herald this week, Taupō Mayor David Trewavas said the arts community had waited a long time for support and deserved the grant.
“We are quick to support lots of sporting events, like the Ironman and Supercars, and no one says a thing ... Why can’t the arts community have a go.”
Trewavas wouldn’t comment on what he thought of Boom Boom.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... It’s certainly a bit out there, but art is meant to spark conversations. [Boom Boom] certainly does that.”
Councillor John Williamson, who holds the council’s Arts and Culture portfolio, agreed.
“[The sculpture] created a lot of interest ... I personally have no objection to it.”
Williamson said he didn’t believe the sculpture was a waste of money and believed it would be a “great asset” to the town.
The sculpture park project was granted resource consent from the council in November 2023.
The trust wanted to revive the park which they believed was ”under-utilised”, apart from being “phenomenally successful for events like the Summer Concert”.
Within the next year, the trust expects to add two further sculptures.
