Two more sculptures are set to be unveiled across Auckland over the coming months as part of a public art series commemorating the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.
They will join the inaugural work, 'Kid Justice' by Auckland visual artist and illustrator Erin Forsyth, which was installed in Crawford Reserve, Howick, in December 2018.
The four contemporary sculptures explore and respond to the theme of ‘Suffrage 125’ in today’s context and through the eyes of women today. They were each commissioned by Auckland Council through an expression of interest (EOI) process.
The first installation, 'Kid Justice', has sparked plenty of public conversation in the past two months. The vibrant blue fibreglass sculpture depicts a blindfolded girl standing on a boulder, clutching a petition roll with a tauhou (wax-eye) bird on her shoulder.
The sculpture references Lady Justice, an ancient allegorical figure of morality, who often has a blindfold, a set of scales and a sword.
“It’s encouraging that Kid Justice is stimulating debate,” says Auckland Council’s manager of arts and culture, Richard McWha.
“Public art is inherently provocative; it can be many things and have many audiences, and we expect it to get people talking.
"Erin’s work uses a hyper-stylised character and bold symbolism to explore themes and ideas around women’s justice, equality and unity, and it has evoked a wide range of responses from local residents.”
Inspiration for 'Kid Justice', which cost $55,000 to create, was also drawn from black and white figurative illustrations from the late 1800s that emerged during the artist’s research into women’s suffrage, and from discussions with the kaitiaki of the Emilia Maud Nixon Garden of Memories (located in Howick) around how social issues may be addressed by future generations.
“During my research, black and white cartoons began to emerge as an essential aesthetic association to the movement," explains Erin Forsyth.
"One cartoon in particular, showing a woman striving to push ‘SUFFRAGE’, a cumbersome boulder, uphill into parliament (after Sisyphus), really stood out; along with the reoccurring blindfolded figure of Lady Justice.
"I incorporated these visual keys from classicism but tried to playfully subvert them through the use of modern materials and given form, in conversation with existing local public artworks."
Through the exchanges with the local community, kotahitanga (unity) also became a central theme of Forsyth’s work. The young girl depicted in the artwork holds a petition roll under her arm “in lieu of a sword”, which appears to be loose and spiraling around the boulder she is standing on and down towards the ground.
On the petition roll, the artist has hand-inscribed the words "Ko ngā Tāngata katoa" and its translation "all people". On the front and on the back of the petition roll are the words "Mana Taurite" and its English translation "equality".
The artist chose a striking blue base colour for the fibreglass sculpture, in reference to the blue stockings worn by and associated with the women’s rights movement in England in the mid-18th century.
“The particular shade and finish (inspired by carnival glass) are intended to be highly reflective of the surrounding environment and respond to shifts in the weather. It is also intentionally playful, mimicking the colour of metals traditionally used for figurative sculpture once exposed to the elements,” says Forsyth.
The suffrage-themed public artworks are the inaugural works to have been commissioned to stand on permanently-installed plinths for the next five years, after which time there will be an opportunity for another series of public artworks to take their place.
Upcoming sculpture reveals
The other upcoming artworks, which will be in-situ for five years, include:
- Mahi Tahi by South-Korean born New Zealand artist Jae Kang. To be installed in Pukekohe Town Square in March.
- Soapbox by architects, architectural graduates and interior design graduate Olivia Collinson, Vanessa Coxhead, Stephanie Darlington, Prue Fea, Jayne Kersten, Madeleine Racz, in collaboration with Jasmax. To be installed in Killarney Park, Takapuna in April.
