item details
NamePathway to the sea / Aramoana
ProductionRalph Hotere; artist; 1991
Bill Culbert; artist; 1991
Bill Culbert; artist; 1991
Classificationsculpture
Materialspāua (abalone shell), rock, glass
Materials Summaryfluorescent lights, paua shells, rocks
Techniquessculpture techniques
DimensionsOverall: 1300mm (width), 500mm (height), 29512mm (length), 424kg (weight)
Registration Number1993-0010-1
Credit linePurchased 1993
Overview
Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert’s installation illuminates a passage through the gallery, marked out with pāua shells. ‘Aramoana’ in literal translation is 'line to the sea, ' with the ara being the line. Aramoana is also a place in Dunedin.
Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert were among those who protested against a proposed aluminium smelter at Aramoana. They feared it would devastate the local environment. The artists’ working drawings for this installation include lines from a poem by John Caselberg: ‘There is a rock to guard every sacred harbour in New Zealand. It but waits its hour.’