Behind the wire

John van Beek, of Wire Art, Tekapo, sets up one of his rusty wire balls in fine, calm weather at the Wanaka A&P Show yesterday afternoon. Mr van Beek and his wife Lynda attend about six shows a year with a trailer load of rural art.

Women prefer rusty wire and men prefer galvanised wire, Mr van Beek says.

Their biggest problem is finding old rusty wire to replace that used in the sculptures. The two-day show starts today and usually attracts around 35,000 people.