Brick Bay’s Tuwing and Queen are two of a suite of kinetic works using modern industrial materials which have won awards for Phil Price both in New Zealand and internationally. The slick and sleek Tuwing, on the Brick Bay walkway stands 9 metres tall. The smaller, subtle Queen, stands 2.8 metres. The domestic scale of Queen is a relatively new venture for Price. He is better known for his large-scale public works that populate the Auckland viaduct and the Wellington waterfront, and which are showcased at significant sculpture events such as Sculpture on the Gulf. Through works such as Queen Phil Price brings his ever popular wind activated kinetic works into the domestic and corporate arena.
Visually, the larger work Tuwing comprises two winglike forms similar in shape, connected via an ‘S’ shaped neck. One form is the base; the other is a wing which moves easily in a light breeze. The single wing is able to rotate independently around two axes and its form and movement bear a direct relationship to aerodynamics.
The natural wind driven movement of the sculpture brings the two parts of Tuwing together and then apart again. The use of space in the work, in the S shape and in the ever-changing spaces described during the motion of the forms, make reference to loss or the description of something which is absent. In its endless activity, opening and closing, this sculpture seems to live and breathe. Its organic form relates to its inspiration in nature, as does the wing-like movement. In a complementary manner the composite material and advanced engineering pertain strongly to the aeronautical industry. In this context the technical relationship Tuwing bears to the aero industry is enhanced by its visual relationship to the ever increasing free flowing form evolving in the aircraft world.
Dr Robin Woodward