The sculpture KIMI/You Are Here by artist Seung Yul Oh. Photo: Supplied / Wellington Sculpture Trust
Fundraisers are seeking $380,000 to get a 5.5-metre, teardrop-shaped sculpture built near Wellington's waterfront.
The large art piece will be able to be seen across Waitangi Park, with its reflective covering reflecting a nearby path and vegetation.
'KIMI/You Are Here' was designed by Korean/New Zealand artist Seung Yul Oh.
Wellington Sculpture Trust chair Jane Black said commissioning the art would be the trust's biggest fundraising effort since its inception 40 years ago.
"Through vigourous effort it has already raised $220,000, and in the current climate the remaining $380,000 will take a bold effort and it is looking for contributions from the public."
Black said the piece would have a strong visual presence in the central city park.
"It will invite viewers to seek it out, first needing to find the path that will lead to a more intimate engagement."
She said the trust sought permission from both the city council and mana whenua to install the art.
"We are honoured that the Ahu Whenua Trusts: Wellington Tenths Trust and Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trusts have generously presented You Are Here with a name and whakataukī to enrich the work's context and significance.
The name KIMI signified the actions to seek, look for, delve, search or hunt and the whakataukī 'Kimi horoa, kimi horapa' advocated for "extensive exploration and the pursuit of knowledge and understanding in a broad, sweeping manner", she said.
She said the art came at a time when Wellington needed it.
"The city needs to inject its creative spirit, entrepreneurial nous and vibrancy back into its collective conscience."
Oh said his work comprised a "hollow and empty invisible void", which absorbed its surroundings to "manifest itself".
"Its intangible physicality exists solely by the breath of perception breathed into it. It continually negotiates the potential for growth and the vanishing of its mass, both from within and beyond the surface.
It was expected the work would be installed at the beginning of next year, once funds were raised.