2010 Fantail on Ring & Woodpigeon on Ring

The Upper Hutt City Council commissioned Fantail on Ring and Woodpigeon on Ringas part of a centre city revitalisation project. Native birds seemed a fitting emblem in a city located in a geographical area with a large content of native bush. For Dibble the sculptures were part of a series of works that celebrated the return of birds to cities, as the result of environmental efforts and the planting of natives.

The birds are caricatures, in Dibble’s classic semi-relief styling, not in the round (as in a realistic depiction), for although they seem large they are in fact only thin shapes.

This unusual form is easily accepted by the viewer; indeed, it makes the characters of the birds, and what makes them so beloved, more pronounced – the woodpigeon (kererū) still and peaceful, the fantail (pīwakawaka) jaunty and flitting.

The birds are positioned on large circles; above eye level, so they don’t impede traffic. The simplicity of the circle gives the works an elegance, the exacting geometry contrasting with the modelled forms.