Shavings
Artwork Name: Shavings
Artist Name: Jamie Pickernell
Location: Corner of Tūtānekai and Haupapa Streets
Medium: Laminated pine
In 2014, Rotorua Lakes Council became the first local authority in New Zealand to adopt a ‘Wood First’ policy recognising the importance of the local forestry industry.
Referencing wood shavings from a carvers chisel, Jamie Pickernell’s sculpture Shavings, is a nod to the wood first policy. It acknowledges the importance of timber to the city’s economy, and links to the rich history of whakairo and wood carving in Rotorua.
Pickernell used large laminated sections of curved pine structural beams and linked them around each other to create the sculpture.
Did you know that forty percent of New Zealand’s total wood production is harvested from central North Island forests within 100km of Rotorua?
Rotorua Lakes Council became the first local authority in New Zealand to adopt a ‘Wood First’ policy in 2014. The policy recognises the importance of the forestry and wood processing industries to Rotorua, with these industries accounting for about 15% of the region’s GDP. The adoption of the policy recognised the opportunity for economic growth from more wood being processed into locally made products and to compete in national and international markets.
Pickernell partnered with Rotorua based engineering firm Metal Form to help fabricate the sculpture.
You can find another of his large timber sculptures, “Hedgehog,” in the Sculpture Trail in the Government Gardens.
Credit: Jamie Pickernell, Shavings, 2015. Commissioned by Rotorua Lakes Council.
About the artist: Jamie Pickernell holds a Māori Craft Design Certificate from Waiariki Polytechnic, and a Fine Arts Degree majoring in sculpture from Whanganui Polytechnic.
He has lived semi-rurally in Rotorua since 1998, with a workshop for his art practice on the property.
Pickernell creates sculptures both big and small; architectural hardware, and furniture. His preferred materials to work with are stone, stainless steel, and corten steel.
