Sites

Made for the place, not the plinth

No two sites ask for the same thing. Before a proposal is drawn, a place is visited more than once, at different times, to understand how people move through it and where the light falls. A public work has to hold its own among traffic, planting, buildings and weather, so the first drawings are about the setting: the sight lines, the approach, the height at which a passer-by meets the work.

Only once the site is understood does material come into it. The aim is a piece that looks as though it was always going to be there, its line and surface answering the ground it stands on. The works shown here are public and site-specific pieces in and around Auckland, in reserves, on a pedestrian crossing and in public grounds. Where a work stands is recorded with its ledger entry, and a site visit can be arranged for a serious commission.