Increasingly Clive's commitment to art coincided with his idealistic vision for our society. The theme of the Court House sculpture was the union of cultures. The large sail-form alluded to the search for a better life that motivated ancestral voyagers from Hawaiiki as well as more recent immigrants like himself and his wife and son.

Although Clive was motivated by a genuine desire to empathise with Maori concerns, the choice of materials in this piece, stainless steel, while it is impressive, has an inherent, stark coldness that is perhaps more symbolic of how Maori find the court system itself.

However in taking an overview of Clive's work and his ambitions for art in Whangarei it is a warm feeling of respect that you gain for the artist. It is certain that his work would have continued to develop and mature along with the city itself but tragically Clive was killed in a car accident in March 1993.

Clive's death came after he had submitted concept ideas to the Court House, along with other Northland artists, but before a final decision on the project had been made. At this point the Court House contacted Clive's son Grant, a graduate of Elam Art School, Auckland. They asked Grant to develop his father's idea and complete the sculpture. Because it was still quite soon after his father's death Grant had initially felt unable to take the project on. But then, "it sort of dawned that it was meant to be."

Grant is proud to have honoured his father by carrying on and completing the project, "as a partnership between himself and his father."

It is a very substantial sculpture and for a young man (Grant was 28 at the time) having recently lost his father, it was a huge commitment that he completed admirably.

Text by Desmond Ford

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