Ferns

1998

Neil Dawson

Hidden (in storage)

Type

  • Sculpture

Medium

  • Aluminium
  • Stainless steel

Dimensions

  • Diameter 3400mm

Neil Dawson, ‘Ferns’ (1988/2018), Te Ngākau Civic Square, CBD, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

Image: Bronwyn Holloway-Smith, Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand, 2021

Description

This spherical piece depicts five kinds of local ferns. It appears to float above the Square. In the original aluminium version the ferns were made in a swirling, sinuous pattern. When remade in stainless steel, the fern motif was made in a more orderly fashion, arranged as a consistent array of ribs running between the poles of the sphere. The interior has been coated with a gold colour.

The sphere is suspended on stainless steel wires.

The work was a joint commission by the Wellington Sculpture Trust, the NZ International Festival of the Arts, and the City Gallery, with funding from ANZ Banking Group, Creative New Zealand, Credit Suisse First Boston, Telecom NZ Ltd, TOWER Group, Saatchi & Saatchi, Scollay Holdings and Wellington City Council.

In early 2025 the work was removed and put in storage for safekeeping due to renovation work being undertaken in the Te Ngākau precinct. It will be reinstated once this work is completed.