Charities to benefit from prisoner’s copper sculpture

Charities to benefit from prisoner’s copper sculpture

A copper ‘Pegasus’ horse, created by an offender at Christchurch Men’s Prison, is being auctioned to raise money for the Salvation Army and Prison Chaplaincy Services.

The horse, made from scrap copper pipe, was created while the sculptor learnt industry skills and mentored other prisoners as part of a plumbing course at Christchurch Men’s Prison.

“He used the horse as a way to demonstrate various welding skills and has used all his breaks to work on and complete the sculpture,” says Pablo Godoy, Assistant Prison Director, Canterbury Prisons.

The impressive sculpture weighs around 100kg and stands nearly two metres high with a wing span of around 1.5m. It’s currently being auctioned on TradeMe.

“We were thrilled to see that in the first 24 hours the horse has had more than $3,000 in bids,” says Pablo. “This will be a great feature piece for whoever wins and the purchase will make a real difference to two very worthwhile organisations.”

The prisoner who made the sculpture has passed the prison industry’s plumbing course and gained a qualification in basic plumbing and drainlaying, but says that it is sculpture and working with copper that has really caught his interest.

He chose to donate the horse to the Salvation Army and Prison Chaplaincy Services to auction as a fundraiser.

“These two groups make a real difference to the lives of offenders within prison and in the community,” he says. “Both organisations have had a positive impact on me personally and I wanted to use my talents to give something back to them.”

“It’s not every day the Salvation Army receives such an unusual donation as this Pegasus horse,” says Shane Chisholm, Public Relations Director for the Salvation Army. “This is an impressive demonstration of artistic talent and we’re sure the funds raised from this auction will help transform the lives of many Kiwis in need. The Salvation Army has a strong heritage working with prisoners in New Zealand through the chaplaincy and reintegration services that we provide.”

Steve Young of Prison Chaplaincy Services says the service is pleased to be associated with the sale of the sculpture.

“Chaplains in prisons provide materials to help prisoners in their spiritual development. While some of this material is provided free by organisations and individual donations, this will provide a welcome boost to our funding and enable us to purchase material required immediately rather than having to wait for a donation or apply for a grant,” he says.

The arts are an important part of prisoner rehabilitation as they help prisoners express themselves and communicate. The arts can also open prisoners’ eyes to new or previously unrecognised skills and hobbies and provide a more constructive way for them to spend their free time. They are an important part of the prison’s rehabilitation and reintegration, which also includes education, industry, offender employment and targeted programmes aimed at reducing reoffending.

The Pegasus Trademe auction closes on 24 December.

ENDS

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