Work is underway to repaint and relocate the iconic 185 chairs artwork in Christchurch, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake on Monday.
An artwork by Peter Majendie remembers the 185 people who died in the Christchurch earthquake in February 2011. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Artist Peter Majendie placed the white chairs opposite the CTV site on Madras St on the first anniversary of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck on 22 February 2011, causing severe damage, killing 185 and injuring several thousand people.
The art installation which shows empty white chairs representing every life lost in the quake has been repainted annually by volunteers since its unveiling in 2012.
Majendie said around 40 people gathered this morning, and some relatives also brought new chairs, once belonging to victims of the quake.
He said the repainting and tidying used to be difficult for many relatives of the victim but the city is moving forward.
"I don't think it's as emotional as it used to be, you know when we were on the old side there were people that used to come that they had never been in town since the earthquake and it used to be far more raw. Now ... it's just good to see one another and they are very keen to do what they're doing."
He said the chairs were never intended as a national memorial.
"I've never seen the chairs as purely a memorial, it's more of an art installation, I don't see it in opposition with the memorial, the national memorial, I just see that it complements it and people may engage with the national memorial and people engage with the chairs."
The chairs are now placed at the St Luke's Anglican Church site on the corner of Manchester and Kilmore Streets in the CBD and the city's new multi-use arena is to be built on the memorial's original site.
The bishop had given approval for the chairs to be placed on the St Luke's site for a couple of years, but long-term plans for the chairs, which have become an attraction for locals and tourists, remain uncertain.