Record numbers attend Sculpture on the Gulf 2007

16 February 2007
MEDIA RELEASE

Record numbers attend Sculpture on the Gulf 2007 and vote Nautilus Whisper for Peoples’ Choice Award
www.sculptureonthegulf.co.nz.

26 sculptures; 17 days; 408 volunteer shifts; 21, 500 visitors; 10, 000 votes

Telecom People’s Choice Award winner, Virginia King’s ‘Nautilus Whisper’
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Auckland –February 2007. Record numbers of visitors attended the recent Sculpture on the Gulf exhibition on Waiheke Island; the free 17 day outdoor public event that offered the opportunity to experience larger than life sculptures amongst the magnificent surroundings of the Hauraki Gulf.

Over 21, 500 visitors experienced the 26 site-responsive installations that acknowledged, embraced and enhanced the exceptional surroundings.

10, 000 people took the trouble to fill out the Telecom People’s Choice Award forms at the end of the walkway, naming their favourite work during the exhibition. The clear winner was Virginia King’s ‘Nautilus Whisper’. Rising up nearly 3 metres and made of marine grade stainless steel, the shell like sculpture is a celebration of life in the South Pacific while drawing attention to the fragility and vulnerability of our endangered oceans.

The third biennial exhibition of its kind, Sculpture on the Gulf has always been based on the concept of escaping the confines of the plinth and white walls of a gallery setting. What started out as a simple award show in 2003 has been transformed to this years’ impressive showcase of 26 entirely new sculptures which responded directly to the walkway and the landscape.

Jackie O’Brien, Artistic Director for Sculpture on the Gulf, said, “For 17 days every two years, one of the most beautiful walkways in the Hauraki Gulf is transformed into a free of charge sculpture experience. 2007 was a resounding success with the highest attendance ever recorded - a testimony to the relevance and interest in public sculpture today.”

ENDS

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