Starfish
Robert Jesson
Type
- Sculpture
Medium
- Various materials
Dimensions
- (Original blue work – now on pole) H1500 (with pole 5500)W 3250 x D600 (Original red work) approx H3000 x W2700 x D600mm
Robert Jesson, ‘Starfish’ (1985), Featherston St, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington
Maribeth Coleman, 1985. Courtesy Wellington City Libraries Recollect. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand License
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Description
This large wall sculpture in two parts was reportedly the first artwork commissioned as part of the Wellington City Council Arts Bonus Scheme.
Originally sited under the entry canopy of the National Insurance building on Featherston Street, the placement of the two giant starfish was site specific: marking the Wellington Harbour shoreline prior to reclamation.
At the Featherston site Starfish was initially obscured by the introduction of a flower vendor and then vanished for some years.
In 2009 the Featherston St building was scheduled for demolition. The work was acquired by property developer Richard Burrell, repainted gold and silver, and reinstalled on a building he owned at 119 Ghuznee St. In this new iteration of the work one starfish is attached to an exterior wall and the other has been pierced by a pole.
See also:
- Maribeth Coleman, Starfish, Robert Jesson. (Wellington City Libraries Recollect)
- Jim and Mary Barr, ‘Flotsam and Jesson’, Over The Net blog (published 20 July 2009)