Paul Dibble Sculpture

Giant tuatara forms half of city's new sculpture

A sculpture in front of the Regent Theatre by internationally acclaimed Palmerston North artist Paul Dibble will be the next instalment in a series of 10 sculptures commissioned by the Palmerston North Public Sculpture Trust.

The bronze sculpture, titled Who's Afraid, is due to be unveiled midway through next year, and the more than three-metre tall instalment will depict a dancer facing off with a tuatara.

The Manawatu Standard has been granted rare access into the Dibble workshop to chronicle the construction of his latest creation and gain a glimpse into the artist's mind.

Dibble, known internationally for the bronze sculptures at the New Zealand War Memorial in London's Hyde Park, seemed reluctant at first to let outsiders into his world, or the media at least.

"The trouble with talking to people like yourself is you never know if they actually understand or if they'll write it in a way that others will understand it," Dibble said.

But talking about the creative process behind Who's Afraid, he opened up.

"Because it's for the Regent Theatre, it's about drama, acting out emotions and feelings. I've called it Who's Afraid, but I'm not too sure if she's alarmed or trying to scare the tuatara. There is also a fair bit of joy in her and that's because theatre is about all those emotions."

Dibble said the massive tuatara, which alone is three metres tall and has affectionately been dubbed George, "would be enough to alarm anyone".

In coming up with the concept, he was asked to submit three ideas to an independent panel who decided which one they wanted on behalf of the Sculpture Trust. Dibble has already done this particular sculpture on a much smaller scale for an exhibition in the Page Blaikie art gallery in Wellington, but turning it into the colossal work it is becoming has required more research.

"You know what rabbits look like, but you don't see [tuataras] all that much," Dibble said.

"One we saw down in Invercargill, George, I liked him. He ate the female's head off."

From there, a wax model "about a foot high", and life-size photocopies of both the dancer and the tuatara were made.

Palmerston North woodworker Martin Carryer built the 3D customwood form in two separate halves which have been glued together.

Now the tuatara template is sitting back in the workshop, Dibble will be reworking it with about three millimetres of black petroleum wax to form the positive template for bronze casting.

The dancer half of the sculpture will not be revealed until the unveiling planned for June.