Creating a beach sculpture for the annual Driftwood and Sand festival on Hokitika Beach in 2025
Unity through Diversity is a site‑responsive installation that gathers individual forms of the same material into a collective presence. Each upright element stands on its own, shaped by weathering, time, and the conditions of the coast. Their varied heights, textures, and orientations create a quiet rhythm that is strongest when read together.
Set within a naturally occurring swathe of stones, the work is held in place through repeated adjustments — a negotiation with ground that shifts, resists, and settles. The installation rests on the idea that unity can emerge from difference, formed not through sameness but through the coexistence of distinct parts within a shared environment.
Creating a work for the annual Driftwood and Sand beach sculpture festival on Hokitika Beach is always special to me. I enjoy the challenge of responding to the materials present on the beach, while spending time in a stunning environment and talking with visitors.
The sculpture on the poster Facets, my sculpture from last year.
Inspiration and Materials
During many walks along the beach, I have been drawn to the blackness, shape, and texture of washed-up punga/ponga (tree fern). Perhaps this is not surprising, as these plants grow all around our house. I used punga in my 2019 work “Harping on about DNA”, and I was delighted to find several pieces on my first pre-event walk this year.
I collected material from one half of the beach, took it home, and began considering how I might use it. A week later, I combed the other half of the beach and gathered much more. My best discovery was a natural swathe of stones in a slightly elevated, ideal location. I had already begun imagining the punga standing upright in the sand, encircled by stones.
Developing the Design
When I stood a few pieces upright, I could immediately see the idea taking shape. The next step was to remove a nearby driftwood teepee and claim my space on the beach. Using photos on my phone and a drawing programme, I explored how the sculpture might look before beginning the main installation.
Building the Sculpture
Day 1: I laid all the pieces out near the stones, sorting them by type and length. I stood a few up temporarily and, after three hours, had three pieces fixed permanently in place.
Day 2: I began placing more pieces and digging holes. Although the stones were visually perfect, digging into them was difficult work with a spade, pinch bar, and crowbar. After six hours, I had 25 pieces permanently positioned, with others balanced in place.
Day 3: About seven pieces that had been stood up the day before had been pushed over, possibly by a dog. I continued digging holes and standing up the punga, spending another seven hours on the beach.
Day 4: Some pieces had fallen down overnight. The work became a process of trial and error as I learned how to secure each piece firmly in the stony ground. I had expected this sculpture to take less time than previous works, especially the last two, but I had not allowed for the difficulty of digging holes in the swathe of stones.
Day 5: I added a few more pieces, though most of the day was spent tending to the surrounding area — removing stones, raking the sand, and clearing space so the installation could sit more clearly within its site.
Completion and Response
Five days and one hundred pieces of punga driftwood later, Unity Through Diversity was complete.
The weather was fine for the first four days, then turned overcast with some rain on the final day. I was glad to have finished before a very wet prizegiving day, where the work received a special prize: Highly Commended. I was also grateful for the many favourable comments from visitors.