‘‘At first, I wasn’t quite sure what they meant.
‘‘I thought, that must be cruel, surely, to paint penguins. And I said, ‘you shouldn’t be doing that to an endangered species’.’’
When they clarified they wanted him to paint a sculpture of a hoiho, he immediately agreed to take part.
‘‘I said, absolutely, I will paint anything, on anything, anywhere, anytime — I was mad keen.
‘‘I think the last time I painted something 3-D was a Spitfire Airfix model kit, back in the ’80s when I was a kid.’’
He was one of 10 artists who painted larger-than-life hoiho penguin sculptures, with unique and spectacular designs, in a project run by Tūhura Otago Museum and the Otago Land and Shore Trust.
Each sculpture was placed in locations across Otago and Southland to raise awareness and vital funding to support efforts to protect and preserve the hoiho for future generations.
It also made a bold statement, calling for action against extinction of the species.
Now the sculptures have been brought together and are on display at Tūhura Otago Museum as part of its latest exhibition, ‘‘Hīkoi o te Taoka: March of the Treasures’’.
Museum visitors are being encouraged to vote for their favourite hoiho sculpture and the winning artwork will be donated to the museum, where it will remain on display as a lasting legacy of the exhibition.
‘‘Hīkoi o te Taoka: March of the Treasures’’ runs until May 17 in the Beautiful Science Gallery.
