2006 Icon

Many of Dibble’s sculptures are simple tributes to New Zealand, a regional focus being something he prized. Some works are direct enactments of traditional emblems.

The large fern, Icon, was originally ordered from a small work that was scaled up massively – the model being only around 250 mm high, and the large version being some 2.6 metres - so more than a ten-fold scaling. The first of these large versions went to Salisbury, England for a New Zealand family wanting a reminder of home. This work was undertaken as an edition of two, so there was scope to cast another, the form being one with which the sculptor was particularly pleased.

The fern in the sculpture is spun upside down from how it is normally seen in its famous logo form, resting not on the thicker stem but on the leaf tips as it might hang in nature. The edition in the Queenstown Gardens is on one of the walkways leading into the park, easily accessed by visitors.

Note: While Icon was created in 2006, the plaque beside the sculpture states it was commissioned by Aspiring Arts and Culture Trust in 2009, perhaps reflecting the donor and date of installation.