The ferro-cement medium was intended to be coated with plastic to provide a suitable surface for children to play on. The other objective was that the forms would have "aesthetic appeal to be appreciated by motorists travelling the adjacent highway." As a sculptor, I suspect it was the sculptural rather than utilitarian possibilities that attracted Clive to the project. It offered the chance to produce a large work in a public space.

As a medium, concrete was a material of interest to sculptors during this period. It was now being used in lightweight applications to build boats and the pioneering work of Italy's Pier Luigi Nervi (UNESCO building, Paris) was becoming known to New Zealand artists. Technically, concrete was relatively easy to use. It can be applied, carved, cast in moulds; it is durable and much cheaper than bronze casting.

Generally, as a material concrete is no longer so fashionable. Other than cases where it is cast in a mould it tends to have a dour, tubby, soft-edged look to it. Sculpture in concrete did however re-surface recently (literally) in the park on Ponsonby Ridge, Auckland -- full scale replicas from Auckland's architectural history pushing up out of the ground! This recent Auckland work by John Radford has a polished, patinated finish that earlier examples in this material never achieved.

In the choice of materials and style the Tarewa Park work is to some extent locked into the period in which it was made. But it is still a strong form with some integrity. Over the years this sculpture attracted some graffiti which may or may not be a totally bad thing in the life of an artwork.But the Parks Dept solution, some years ago, to blanket paint it green along with the picnic tables and block walls nearby was to no longer consider it as an artwork at all.

I'm sure a much more imaginative solution to the graffiti problem could be found. But it may take an artist to come up with it!

Text by Desmond Ford