Art in high places

In the Queensberry Hills between Cromwell and Wänaka, the Poison Creek Sculpture Project is enriching Central Otago's cultural scene.

- THOMAS MCLEAN

Sunny Collings first felt the allure of sculpture on a visit to the Musée Rodin when she was 21. Housed in a grand, 18th-century residence on Paris's Left Bank, the museum celebrates the life and achievements of France's most famous sculptor, Auguste Rodin.

Behind the house, the collection spills out onto a magnificent garden, offering an oasis of sculpture and greenery in the centre of the city. "I was just completely captivated," says Collings. "I hadn't really thought about sculpture before that."

Decades later, those seeds of inspiration have developed into a thriving sculpture park in Central Otago, hidden away in the Queensberry Hills. When she saw the 15-ha property for sale in 2015, Collings felt drawn to the location. The elevated position provides sublime views of the Southern Alps and the upper Clutha/Mata-Au River. But the view also encompasses land near Lake Hawea where Collings' great-grandparents once had a farm at Lagoon Valley. She consulted her partner, Selena Henry, and the pair made an offer.

The property is on former farmland subdivided over the years for rural living. Since previous owners had already built a comfortable home on the land, Collings and Henry decided to renovate some of the remaining agricultural structures. A steel-frame shed was transformed into a communal space for visitors and art.

"We wanted to keep the aesthetic of the interior more barn-like, with rough-sawn wood rather than Gib, and also a more industrial look with the steel beams exposed," Henry says. The couple populated the surrounding landscape with large, sculptural works from their own private collection, including Terry Stringer's imposing Temple of Poetry. For several years, it was their escape from busy lives in Wellington, but soon an idea formed for a more public-facing endeavour. The Poison Creek Sculpture Project was born.

SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE