Big Flowers For A Wild City – Unveiled On Te Papa’s Forecourt

Martin Basher a New Zealand/USA artist now based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara has presented Wellington city with vibrant and gigantic bouquets of flowers. He is the recipient of the tenth Collin Post 4 Plinths Project commission. His work Big Flowers for a Wild City will be unveiled on the four plinths that border the Te Papa forecourt and the waterfront tonight by the Wellington Sculpture Trust’s patron, Dame Patsy Reddy.

Martin received $50,000 for the award generously donated by the family of the late Collin Post, and his work will sit on the plinths for the next two years.

For each of the four plinths on the plaza Martin has designed a flowering, abstract bouquet of candy-coloured flowers arranged in a vase. Their genesis came post-covid when Martin realised he needed to make something pure and beautiful.

Martin says of Big Flowers for a Wild City: “The four seven-metre floral arrangements will sit in their plinth ‘vases,’ owning this monumental plaza. The low-relief sculptures with their high gloss, pearlescent and day-glow pigments will rise up against the thrumming city back drop. Constructed of steel and wood, the work will be a thrilling pop of colour against the

muted hues of Te Papa and its surrounding buildings.

“Their height will vie with the scale of the surrounding architecture and punch out against the skyline, bounding the entrance to Te Papa with a scale and ambition befitting the setting,” he said.

There is a darker side to the work with the artificial flowers, non-perishable and rendered in alien colours, a gesture towards the disorder of climate change. However, he says: “I ultimately want them to be received as lasting tokens of affection. Their generosity, embodied in their vibrancy and their exuberance, should be seen as a tribute to both the city of Wellington and to the power of art itself.”

Chair of the Wellington Sculpture Trust, Jane Black, said today: “We are thrilled to award this project to an artist of Martin’s standing and a Wellingtonian to boot. Born and bred in Wellington, Martin has divided his time between here and his established arts practice in New York City for 25 years. This is Martin’s largest public project to date, and it’s going to be thrilling to have this work in such an important location in the city,” Jane said.

A graduate of New York’s Columbia University MFA program, Basher has exhibited widely internationally. Though primarily a painter, he has made a number of public sculptures, including a major commission for The Public Art Fund, New York’s leading presenter of public art. He has been the recipient of a number of prestigious residencies including: The La Brea Residency in Los Angeles, the McCahon Residency in Auckland, New Zealand, The

AAI residency in New York, and the Susan Goodman Residency in Berlin; and his work features in numerous public and private collections in the United States and New Zealand.

The sculpture is the tenth in the 4 Plinths award series which has now been running for 20 years. Each work remaining on site for a maximum of two years.

Jane Black said: “The aim of the project is, through temporary works, to show-case sculptural practice; provide a site that provides maximum engagement for the public; and a platform both figuratively and literally for artists to work in a public space.

“This project enables our artists to take a big step into the realm of the complexities that come with large-scale public works of art in a robust environment.

“Ownership of the Collin Post 4 Plinths Project works remains with the artist.

“Our concept for the site is modelled on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, which is also a revolving home for temporary works. It is our aim to grow this event and make it internationally significant - a southern hemisphere version of the Fourth Plinth,” she said.

The partnership with the Post family celebrates and commemorates the late Collin Post and his love of the arts, in particular sculpture.

Jane Black said today: “Collin was a stalwart of the Trust for many years. He was a true ‘friend’ and always showed a great deal of interest in our projects and events and could be relied upon to be there to support us and our artists.”

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