2019 Dawn Chorus on the Fish of Māui

Dawn Chorus on the Fish of Māui has involved more than a decade of making. Not that it is the only sculpture produced in the roughly ten-year period, but it has been evolving and journeying, seeming at times to have a spirit of its own. The basic structure of a fish holding up a platform, or small piece of land on its nose, as if it is rising out of the ocean to create the island, began as part of a series of works that were based around New Zealand mythology (the fish that Māui fished up to become the North Island). Part of the idea of the platform was also a reference to the hakari platforms, where food was piled high on multiple layers for significant occasions and gatherings, with ideas of celebrations and a land of plenty.

The works are really acclamations of New Zealand as a paradisal land and the imagery included small iconic churches, a wooden rowboat, the New Zealand statehouse and even more whimsical variations like a farmer fencing a section and one which included a man mowing his lawn. They are artworks that express, simply, a love of the country and its culture, of which Paul as a fourth-generation kiwi, raised on a diary farm in Waitakaruru was part.

The giant fish of this work originally featured a city scape of Auckland including Skytower. These were discarded and instead a volcano was featured with four larger birds. The sculptor found fault with this variation based on aesthetic concerns; the proportion of the volcano he decided was too short with the fish, the birds too large and a more unified but complex imagery was required. It was then that he came up with the concept of the tree – an odd companion for fish, so odd that it sparked the imagination. And as the fish holds up this tree, so the tree becomes a holder for a tree-full of birds, local native birds even including the ghost of an ancient (now extinct) huia. The huia is a special tribute to this region from where the huia was last seen.

Over the last three years various additional birds have been added to the menagerie. The ruru was considered an important addition for two reasons. “Nightshade” was one of Wildbase’s poster shots, the bird’s identity on social media with a small towel wrapped around a touching poignant portrayal. But additionally, the owl is also considered something of a personal symbol for Paul’s hometown, Waitakaruru translates as “where the owl sits on the water” so this bird is also special to him. Just two weeks ago we added two additions. So, the final rollcall of birds has become a list of nine (see if you can spot them): piwakawaka (fantail), tūi, huia, kerūru (woodpigeon), kṓkako, saddleback, koromako, kingfisher and of course “Nightshade” the ruru.