28 Sep 2018
Civil engineering experts Fulton Hogan build communities, and this means much more than city infrastructure, says National Development Manager Michael Fulton.
“It’s about identity more than anything else,” he says. And along with his colleagues at Fulton Hogan, Michael has made a significant contribution to expressions of identity in Christchurch, both before and after the earthquakes that rocked the city.
Supporting public art in Christchurch through SCAPE Public Art, which is celebrating its 20th year and has installed more than 240 temporary and 13 permanent art works, “has really helped to bring back people to the city after the quakes,” he says.
Michael, who is a SCAPE Board member, says there are benefits for engineers too, who often collaborate with artists to make temporary, rather than permanent, fixtures.
The creative aspect has been a challenge for some, but the projects are always rewarding. “It brings our people together and they always walk away with a smile.”
SCAPE Philanthropy & Communications Manager Carolyne Grant says it’s a great illustration of art working with industry. “I can’t think of a stronger one,” she says.
“We set up our first exhibition on a model based on art and industry in public spaces. The Art & Industry 2000 Biennial Visual Arts Festival took place in 2006 and we moved from being a biennial to an annual event (SCAPE Public Art Seasons) in 2016.
“For that inaugural festival, Pauline Rhodes' Ziggurat was installed in Hagley Park. She made a small model of the 5x10 metre work of stones in gabions (from Canterbury river beds). We went to the Fulton Hogan office and they embraced the concept because it was a material they worked with,” says Carolyne.
As part of SCAPE’s 20th year celebrations, Fulton Hogan will again help to recreate Michel de Broin’s Encircling (2006), which is aptly constructed using asphalt, yellow paint, and a road sign. The work will be installed on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Hereford Street as part of the SCAPE Public Art Season 2018: 6 October - 17 November 2018.
Creative New Zealand will support Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine’s VAKA-‘A-HINA, which will feature towards the end of the season.
Other SCAPE artworks involving Fulton Hogan include:
Neil Dawson, Fanfare 2014/15
Peter Atkins, Chaos & Order, 2015
Mark Catley, Sign o the Times 2016
Janna Van Hasselt, Buzz Carpet, 2016
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