Love, Hope, Joy, 2022
Changing Lanes Art in the City Sculpture Trail
- Auckland City 2022
High Street, Auckland
Commissioned by Auckland City Council
Artist: Rosemary Petterson
Size: 650mm x 2600mm high each (3)
Medium: plywood, resene lumbersider
This sculpture is a series of three windows, with each one encapsulating one of the concepts of LOVE, HOPE and JOY. They were a part of the Heart of Auckland City Changing Lanes Art in the City Spring Festival 2022 in Auckland
Windows are gateways into other worlds, and they symbolise opportunity and the crossing over from confinement to freedom. The latticework on these windows combine the motifs of sacred architecture, sacred geometry and the floral aspects of spring. They all point to the glimpses of hope and new life as we cross the threshold between winter and spring, between what has been and what is to come. They capture a mood of rejuvenation, renewal and hope and insert a little bit of colour and joy into a grey space.
Windows are gateways into other worlds.
Most of my sculptural artworks are about engaging the viewer in an experience that is more than just being able to step back and view from a distance. I create artworks that are able to be walked through, and it’s as you move from the ‘outer’ to the ‘inner’ where the encounter of the work takes place. I really enjoy creating large scale sculptures like this, which encourages and directs the viewer into an experiential encounter with the artwork.
This sculpture was commissioned by the Auckland City Council for the Changing Lanes Sculpture Trail Art in the City 2022, after I submitted a proposal to meet their brief about bringing rejuvenation into the city in a post covid context.
It was made with a process that was new to me, so I had to start off with a whole lot of experimentation. I wanted to create curved forms out of a rigid product! So we'll see what happens.... Getting started on the construction of my first frames I found the bathtub a good place to pre-soak the ply to get it more malleable for bending and shaping. A lot of calculations and experimenting with how many slots to cut in each piece of wood to make it curve to the diameters I need.
Engaging with the shapes and forms of spring and sacred geometry as found in nature and the bright vibrant colours that emerge as we come out of the dreariness of winter and into the hope of new life over the Springtime threshold. The flower of life design symbolises the cycle of creation. It's believed that within this symbol, holds the most meaningful and sacred patterns of our universe as a whole. It depicts how all life comes from one singular source.
I hope that as the viewer encounters this work that will be taken by a sense of joy and light and rejuvenation.
Proposed Render
Installation Day
