THE noise that Wellington’s newest sculpture makes “is halfway between a hum and a whistle”, says Sculpture Trust chairman Neil Plimmer.
Akau Tangi, (the sighing sound of the wind) created by renowned artist Phil Dadson, is the fifth and final installation in the $750,000, 10 years in-the-making, Meridian Wind Sculpture Walkway.
Unlike any other sculptures in Wellington, Dadson’s creation on Cobham Drive uses noise in conjunction with visual effects.
“It’s unique,” says Plimmer. “You could only put a sound sculpture in this place where there are no houses around.”
Meridian Energy was nervous about a sound sculpture after flak last year about the noise of the Makara windmills, but Plimmer says it’s worked out well, and could even be “a bit more noisy”.
Akau Tangi, which was also the original name of Evans Bay, features 10 coloured poles marching as sentinels out of the bay, up the beach, and onto Cobham Drive. Atop each pole sits a windsock, which pivots, spins and illuminates at night.
“The different cones make different sounds (when the wind is blowing), so if you could stand underneath all of them at once, it would be a harmony,” says Plimmer.
The Wind Sculpture Walk was meant to end at three sculptures, however once Meridian Energy, Wellington City Council and the Sculpture Trust started, they couldn’t stop, and there are now five. Plimmer says the result is an outdoor gallery.
“This is an exceptional collection of the best sculptures in New Zealand, by the best artists. Unlike a lot of other art, they will be there for generations, and will get embedded in Wellington’s self-perception,” he says. “I find when Wellingtonians have visitors from out-of-town, they take them to show them the sculptures.”
Meridian Energy has also announced that due to public opinion, it will restore the broken Brooklyn wind turbine, rather than replacing it.
Spokesman Alan Seay says the needed parts have been ordered, and the windmill should be up-and-spinning in the next couple of months, at a cost of around $100,000.

The Meridian Wind Sculpture Walk, now complete, includes:
Pacific Grass by Konstantine Dimopoulos, 2001.
Zephyrometer by Phil Price, 2003.
Tower of Light by Andrew Drummond, 2005.
Wellington Urban Forest, Leon van den Eijkle and Allan Brown, 2007.
Akau Tangi, The Sighing Sound of the Wind by Phil Dadson, 2010.