Locals and visitors to the capital can now literally say they are 'in Wellington' thanks to a new public sculpture.
The sculpture was created to be interactive, with people taking the place of the missing letter. Photo: Supplied / WellingtonNZ
A new giant sculpture on the waterfront near Te Papa spells out the word Wellington - with one letter missing, the 'i'.
The 2.2 metre high, 8.9 metre wide WELL_NGTON scuplture was designed to be interactive, with people able to stand in place of the missing letter.
"Wellington and the people that love it are at the very heart of this public artwork - from the locations it will be installed in and the name it spells out to the people who become part of the artwork itself," artist and project director Pete Baker said.
Commissioned by WellingtonNZ, acting general manager Josh Gardiner says the sign is designed to be moved around the city and foster a feeling of 'I belong in Wellington'.
"It not only provides visitors to the city with a great shareable memento of their time here but also gives proud locals the chance to star in their own photos to share with friends and whānau," he said.
"It is also a part of Wellington welcoming back visitors impacted by border restrictions including those from Auckland who make up the city's largest domestic visitor market. But no matter where our visitors come from, we can't wait to roll out the welcome mat - or sculpture in this case."
The sculpture was designed by The Glue Society and manufactured and installed by Human Dynamo.
The project had a budget of $130,000.