Cloak of Tia Sculpture unveiled

The first sculpture from the Taupo Sculpture Trust, “The Cloak of Tia”, was unveiled on Friday evening by Mayor Rick Cooper and Sculpture Trust Chairman Ian Smith in front of a very appreciative crowd.

The 3m glass towers stand at the entrance of the Great Lake Centre, a testament to the great Maori explorer and Ng
ti Tkwharetoa ancestor Tia.

The Taupo Sculpture Trust Chairman Ian Smith was pleased with what the Trustees have achieved, and thanked all those involved in the project “Our goal is to see Taupo become an arts and culture destination, and this is just the first step.”

Mayor Rick Cooper hoped it would be the first of many works of art displayed in Taupo. “We are a very sporty town, which is great, but we also need to have beautiful works of art to complement our beautiful natural scenery and attract a broader range of visitors here.”

The contemporary sculpture was the creation of renowned glass artist Lynden Over of Lava Glass Studio in Wairakei. The sculptor explained his inspiration for the piece “the blue and green hues represent the lake and the surrounding forest, the red and brown hues represent the fiery volcanic nature of the region”.

The sculpture is made up of 4,000 individually hand made pieces of glass, representing the feathers from the Cloak of Tia. The left over feathers are available as limited edition commemorative pieces at the Lava Glass Gallery. One of the four inset plaques gives a full explanation of the making of this sculpture and the ryholite pedestal on which it is set

Taupo Sculpture Trust aims to formulate other contemporary sculptures for the Taupo District and has received donations from Taupo Moana Rotary Club and Creative Taupo towards its work. The next planned sculpture is a water structure on the Colonel Roberts reserve, a sculpture that will respond to the environment around it.