SCULPTURE DISPLAY AT THE NEW PLYMOUTH AIRPORT

The sculpture "Swing" is on loan to the people of New Plymouth by courtesy of the Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Society. Its location at the airport was arranged with the support of the Art in Public Places Trust and the Airport Manager, NPDC. The sculpture was transported and installed on 3 April 2013 by the generosity of Q-Transport and voluntary labour by members of Te Kupenga*. The sculpture belongs to Te Kupenga as part of a collection of international works on public display at our Club on Centennial Drive. The talented Japanese sculptor, Mutsumi Matsuoka, sculpted “Swing” at the 2008 Te Kupenga Biennial International Stone Sculpture Symposium on the foreshore. The artist herself says: “New Plymouth is one of the special places where you can see highest mountain and beautiful ocean in New Zealand. People may think mountains by the seashore, people may think ocean wave in the mountain. Thoughts 'Swing' in our heart.” As the sculpture was created from a typical Taranaki andesite boulder and conveys connotations of New Plymouth as a unique place, “Swing” offers a fitting welcome and farewell at the gateway to Taranaki. Te Kupenga invites New Plymouth residents to enjoy “Swing” which is both beautiful and free.