Mayor Kerry Prendergast will officially launch a new public scuplture to honour Wellington's film and television industry at 1.15 on Thursday 17 November.

Tripod under construction

The sculpture is called Tripod and it is a six-and-a-half metre high, bronze tripod figure designed and created by Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop.

It is located on the corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace, in the heart of the city's film and entertainment district near the Embassy Theatre, home to several film premieres.

Mayor Prendergast describes Tripod as an audacious attention seeker.  "It stops people in their tracks, you can't fail to notice it.  It's a unique, creative, modern piece that's already got people talking," she says. 

"Tripod is also a fantastic example of local ingenuity and creativity.  Weta's passion, energy and enthusiasm is clearly evident in this work.  Tripod will, I am sure, become a much-loved and much-admired Wellington icon and another jewel in the city's ever burgeoning crown.  The film industry plays a vital role in the economy of our region and this is a very fitting tribute to it."

Council Contribution

The Council contributed $300,000, with Weta Workshop providing an additional $150,000 to create a tribute honouring the local film and television industry and its important contribution to the city and its economy.  Tripod is a permanent piece of public art designed to celebrate and recognise the positive impact the industry has had, not only on Wellington City, but the entire region.

Tripod Description

The tribute is a film camera on a tripod that appears to be composed from a collection of recycled mechanical parts including a video game console, toasted sandwich maker, radio and railway sleepers, with the camera made from an engine block and a hairdryer for the view finder. 

Described by Weta Workshop Director Richard Taylor as an out-of-control giant robot running amok in the city of Wellington, he says it symbolises the ingenuity and unbounded imagination that the New Zealand screen industry thrives on.  "We wanted to pay tribute to the New Zealand screen industry's number 8 wire attitude and ability to create with whatever is at hand," he says.

Tripod was selected from a pool of nine possible concepts by an independent assessment panel including panel chair Neil Plimmer, local architect Ian Athfield, Yvonne Mackay from the Gibson Group, Jenny Harper, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of Victoria University, and Anne Noble, Research Director of the College of Design, Fine Arts and Music at Massey University. 

Tripod Facts

• Height - 6.5 metres
• Weight - 5 tonnes, specifically 4 tonnes of bronze and 1 tonne of steel which was used for the armature
• Material used - steel and bronze - bronze on outside and steel for the armature
• Diameter - 6 metres

Construction

The intention was for it to appear to be made from railway sleepers for legs, excavator arms and hydraulic pistons, videogame console parts and toasted sandwich makers.

Its patterns were fabricated in foam, polystyrene, custom board, car-bog and found objects.

The bronze pieces were then assembled and welded around a stainless steel armature. Then a further level of customisation was added to make each part unique and create a sense of asymmetry.

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