‘Dangerous’ hedgehog wins sculpture prize

A dangerous-looking hedgehog sculpture made entirely of wire may have missed out on a big prize at the Fieldays No 8 Wire National Art Awards held at ArtsPost last week, but its creator was happy with the President’s Choice award he got for it.

Ngaruawahia engineer Arthur Mahutariki said his kids had given him the idea for the hedgehog and that it hadn’t taken him long to make.

“It only took about three to four weeks, doing a couple of hours here and a few hours there, but sharpening those spikes out of rusty wire – to get that brown colour – that took a long time.”

Fieldays president Lloyd Downing, who presented Mr Mahutariki with the award, said he appreciated the realism of the hedgehog sculpture.

“I’m a farmer, I love animals and to me that looks like the perfect replica of a hedgehog!”

Auckland artist Donna Sarten won first place and a prize of $4000 for her work, Unsolved.

Unsolved is an infant’s cot completely covered in No 8 wire and illustrates the story of Jeannette and Harvey Crewe who were shot and killed on their Pukekawa farm in June 1970, leaving their baby daughter Rochelle alone in the house for several days, during which time she was cared for by an unknown woman.

“It’s a work I found fascinating because of the political and social dimensions of the story behind it,” said judge and selector Carole Shepheard.

“It’s not a purely decorative piece but she (Sarten) has controlled the material beautifully.”

William Jameson’s self-explanatory Wire Waka was selected for the second place prize of $1500 and Gaye Jurisich got the $1000 third prize for Phasmida, a collection of hanging tree branches combined with No 8 wire.

Sixteen of the 27 entries for the Fieldays No 8 Wire National Art Awards are on display and for sale at the ArtsPost Art Galleries and Shop in Hamilton.