Hobsonville Point’s latest public artwork, ‘Heart of Stumps, Tool, Clip’ by Steve Woodward, sits proudly in its new home at the intersection of Hobsonville Point Road and Buckley Avenue.

On the surface Heart of Stumps (made of white marble), Tool (grey basalt) and Clip (black granite) are three carved stone sculptures, elegant and intriguing to the viewer. They are positioned to read as a connected work but each has a particular meaning and deeper significance. In fact, the work was selected both for its visual strength and the subtle references to the many layers of change that Hobsonville Point has seen.

Heart of Stumps is a heart-shaped cone with protruding ‘tree stumps’. It talks of the age-old forest giants which once covered the land.

Tool is a two-sided cutting blade. One side references the gentle contours of the land post de-forestation while the other reflects theman-made patterns of the new residential development.

Meanwhile Clip is a symmetrically clipped ‘topiary’ atop a sturdy table with Latin words of obedience, referring to the ordered plantings of exotic trees and the regimented essence of military and Air Force life.

“All art forms have their special qualities,” says Steve. “The magic of carved stone lies in the precise and painstaking paring away of rough stone to reveal an object of truth and beauty. The end result belies the often extreme physicality of the work to reach that point.”

Steve is also the artist behind another of Hobsonville Point’s public art installations, ‘Kuri Topiary’. This large dog is kindly on loan to the Hobsonville Land Company from the artist and can be viewed in the reserve on Marlborough Crescent en route to The Landing.

For more art at Hobsonville Point, see our Public Art page.