January 24 - February 9, 2003 Sculpture on the Gulf

Sculpture on the Gulf is a biennial event started in 2003.

…an event with a uniquely New Zealand / Aotearoa, maritime and Waiheke flavour…. One of the main criteria for the selection of the 25 major works was their appropriateness for the site. How would they fit their location and what visual and physical connection and interaction would they have with their immediate environment.

Hauraki with its three components describes Dibble’s origins. The centrally placed figure whimsically recalls the navigational legends of the travellers who arrived in the area both in waka and in sailing ships. The pounder, for working flax, and anchor stone reference the archaeological relics found in the swampland.

Dibble’s artworks examine issues about New Zealand; New Zealand as the last colonial outpost; as a south seas antipodean paradise; as a land of sheepdogs, hunters and heroes; debating current political topics of conservation and biculturalism. Often, he relocates images from international modernism to the South Pacific.

Dibble participated in this exhibition in 2003 and 2005. He also participated in 2016 and 2019 when the event was renamed Headlands.