Phil Price Sculpture Design for SCAPE 2006 Biennial of Art in Public Space

Thursday 28 September 2006

Good evening. I am delighted to be at the unveiling of another major art work in the city, the Phil Price Sculpture, Nucleus.

Enhancing our public spaces is a very important part of a lively modern city.

My sincere thanks to the Art and Industry Biennial Trust for their continued sponsorship of art in the city. This is the fourth art work to be commissioned by the trust in partnership with the Christchurch City Council and each one leaves an everlasting impression on the city.

Sir Robertson Stewart is one of our great industrialists. Under his stewardship PDL Industries Ltd grew from 12 employees to over 2000 and he did this with a combination of excellence in quality and innovation in design of electrical products. The Stewart family patronage of the arts in the city is second to none.

Phil Price is one of New Zealand’s outstanding and most innovative sculptors, and he was born and bred right here in Canterbury. Phil is part of a lineage that includes John Britten and Neil Dawson.

Each time I am in Wellington I pass the Zephyrometer and am amazed! It is a wonderful work and I always feel proud that it was the work of a Christchurch artist.

It now gives me great pleasure to see a kinetic artwork designed by Phil in our own city and especially pleased it’s home is to be in this part of High Street, the Port Hills Plaza.

It’s a contemporary sculpture and very striking. I am sure it will provoke a hundred different points of view!

My thanks to all those involved in this project.