Absolut Salutes Kiwi Ingenuity With A No. 8 Wire Spectacular
A tribute to New Zealand and Kiwi Ingenuity has been unveiled by ABSOLUT VODKA today in the form of a huge seven metre
tall sculpture made out of No. 8 wire. This magnificent piece floats on a barge in Auckland's Viaduct basin and is
appropriately named ABSOLUT INGENUITY.
The Spectacular pays homage to New Zealand's ingenious creative reputation and joins the ranks of other ABSOLUT
SPECTACULAR projects that have been created worldwide by the vodka company. ABSOLUT has long been a champion of
creativity and is renowned for its creation of radical concepts and new art.
The giant No. 8 wire sculpture is complemented by five pieces of art created by emerging New Zealand artists who have
each interpreted 'Kiwi Ingenuity' using No. 8 Wire in a unique and different way.
The aim of the worldwide Spectacular projects is to celebrate the local insights and culture in various countries and to
reflect the lifestyle and personality of the country and its community. This is the first time New Zealand has been
involved.
Susan Ralston, Brand Manager of ABSOLUT says it is a real tribute to New Zealand to be invited to create a Spectacular.
"ABSOLUT INGENUITY reflects the hardworking and can-do nature of New Zealanders, often known as the No. 8 wire
mentality. The No. 8 wire attitude is one of the country's unique attributes and often used to describe our technology
breakthroughs or our international success in high profile areas of films, culture, music and sport," she says. "ABSOLUT
INGENUITY pays tribute to that attitude and celebrates being Kiwi, it is a celebration of New Zealanders' ongoing
culture of boxing above their weight."
In essence it is about New Zealanders believing they are able to invent better ways of doing things by being innovative,
even if they have little experience and limited resources.
The concept to celebrate the No. 8 wire mentality was created for ABSOLUT by advertising agency Whybin\TBWA and
constructed and engineered by creative design company Three Sixty.
ABSOLUT INGENUITY will be Auckland's Viaduct Harbour from Wednesday 16 March until Tuesday 29 March.