Hard Graft, Mark Two - Oliver Stretton-Pow

Location: Bivacco Junction

Size: 2.5 metres high x 1.5 metres wide x 1.5 metres long

Material: Copper, Bronze

‍

Oliver Stretton-Pow is a master sculptor who creates exceptional multimedia works in materials such as bronze, glass, wood, and steel. His works have been exhibited internationally, and in 2024, he won the People’s Choice Award at the 20th anniversary of Sculpture on the Gulf. That same year, he co-founded Studio Ten81, Waiheke Island’s top contemporary art gallery.

Hard Graft Mark II, crafted from pohutukawa, steel, copper and bronze, is the latest in Stretton-Pow’s series based on the lighthouse as a symbol of navigation and orientation. These symbolic beacons, which we trust implicitly to guide us to safety, have somehow come adrift. Stretton-Pow’s meditations on the lighthouse as a marker of guidance in our rush toward inevitable destruction have evolved into Hard Graft Mark II, where the lighthouse takes on a biomorphic mobilisation akin to the dangerous plants of John Wyndham’s Triffids, symbolising humanity’s collective inability to see obvious danger.

Incorporating Māori mythology, the sculpture references Te Reinga, the leaping-off place of spirits, once described as "the gateway to Te Hinenui o te Po" - the underworld through the aerial roots of an ancient Pōhutukawa tree. A well-visited lighthouse cohabitates the site, providing orientation. Hard Graft Mark II merges these potent spiritual ideas with the pragmatic function of the lighthouse.

The exposed root system reveals grafted tendrils, some with empty clefts, symbolising the potential for evolution and growth. The title, Hard Graft Mark II, is a nod toward the mahi or work required to bring about meaningful change, highlighting the effort needed to navigate toward a more sustainable future.

Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail

From the 16th April until the 14th May, Viaduct Harbour in partnership with the Aotearoa Art Fair presents the Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail. Featuring a lineup of 9 extraordinary artists pushing the boundaries of three-dimensional work on display throughout Viaduct Harbour. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to explore art in a whole new dimension.