Works by two New Zealand artists, Sara Hughes and Peata Larkin will span a total of 5,760sqm once fully installed on the four external walls of the NZICC.

Artwork from local artist Sara Hughes began installation this week. First to be fitted will be 98 glass fins that will adorn the western and eastern exterior, followed by the southern side of the NZICC where another glass artwork feature with over 500 panels of varying size will wrap the top level of the structure.

The imagery uses 60 different colour tones and is inspired by Ms Hughes’ upbringing in rural Northland near the Waipoua kauri forest.

“The artwork reflects the experience of walking through the New Zealand bush and looking up through a canopy of trees to see the unique light and colour of the forest,’’ says Ms Hughes.

“It’s really exciting and moving for me personally to see this work lifted into place and on public display for the first time.’’

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Artwork being installed at the NZICC

Warren and Mahoney, who designed the NZICC in association with Moller Architects and Woods Bagot, say the highly collaborative design process has leveraged the NZICC’s original design brief to create a building with enduring civic presence and identity.

“In many ways we’ve been speaking ‘on behalf’ of the building over the last few years. That’s why it’s so exciting to see the building increasingly start to speak for itself, and the installation of the first of the Sara Hughes-designed fins will see a powerful and distinctive part of the project’s identity assert itself on the skyline. We’re looking forward to the first fins quickly weaving the larger veil of colour over these elevated and visible sections of the NZICC’s facade.” says Richard Archbold, Project Architect.

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Over 500 panels of different sizes, shapes and colours will be installed into the building over the next six months. The panels are lifted in by mini crane or tower crane at an average of six to eight per day.

Callum Mallett – General Manager NZICC says the challenge of lifting something so large, heavy and delicate on a busy construction site is significant. “Some of these glass panels are up to 9m high and weigh as much as 1.3 tonnes, and they have very specific placements, so the team on site have a delicate and challenging job ahead of them.”

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Artwork being installed at the NZICC

Once Ms Hughes’ glass installation is completed, work will begin on the installation of Ms Larkin’s terracotta wall. The105m-long tile wall will span from Hobson Street to Nelson Street through the future laneway of the NZICC, and will wrap back into the building.

Approximately 13,500 terracotta tiles in eight different colours will form a complementary relationship with the glass artwork, softening and adding movement and life to what would have been a straight plain wall.

NZICC Artwork Facts

The total size of both artworks is 5,760sqm. Sara Hughes’ glass artwork is 2,400sqm in total, and the glass artwork on Southern wall is overall 105m long and made up of panels 1.5m wide and between 1.2m to 3.67m tall.

Click here to view the NZICC website.

About Sara Hughes

Sara Hughes is a dynamic artist with a career well established and highly regarded in Australasia. Based in Auckland she is known for her vibrant installations and public commissions. Her large scale artworks meld colour, pattern and light into architectural space in memorable ways.

Hughes has exhibited widely and her paintings and installations are held in many important public and private collections including the Chartwell Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, Te Papa, The Wallace Arts Trust, University of Auckland, Hocken Library and the Gallery of NSW in Sydney.

Hughes has undertaken a number of high profile public commissions including the creation of a series of striking outdoor works for the re-opening of Cathedral Square in Christchurch.

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