Auckland's newest public artwork, designed by designer/artist Caroline Robinson, is a loose coil of metal suspended lightly from the new Grafton Gully bridge. Fine strands, which pin the sculpture to the bridge, are a metaphor for the stream systems that used to flow through the gully and out into the Waitemata.
Auckland's newest public artwork, designed by designer/artist Caroline Robinson, is a loose coil of metal suspended lightly from the new Grafton Gully bridge. Fine strands, which pin the sculpture to the bridge, are a metaphor for the stream systems that used to flow through the gully and out into the Waitemata.
ropeworks is also a tribute to some of the early colonial industry from the Grafton area. According to Robinson who researched the area as part of her creative process, the sculpture marks the place near where the first mechanised rope factory in New Zealand was set up in 1842. The ship building industry that developed at Mechanics Bay was sited in close proximity to the factory's supply of rope. So on one level this site marks the beginning of the City of Sails.

Caroline says of her practice - "Currently the work I do in the public realm seeks to promote intimacy and connection. Down in the gully where everything is in constant motion I want to provide a place for people to land - not figuratively - but in terms of providing a humanising element within the overall design of the project. I see rope as a great cross cultural symbol.

"All cultures spin fibre into rope. It is an ancient and universal technology, and in the Grafton Gully, it's a very important part of our heritage."

"What has been great about this project is that Transit has addressed contemporary urban design issues. They are aware that they are creating an environment for people, not just a motorway system.

"A collaborative design process has integrated other creative elements from the start such as pre-cast concrete panels and my sculpture. The results are an exciting step forward for New Zealand's motorway design. I hope that this project will inspire future major civic projects, and help further the potential for design collaborations in construction processes."

Robinson has been gaining a reputation for her role as design consultant on other current urban design projects including the redesign of the new Glen Innes Town Centre and the Panmure Town Centre. She has recently authored a book on the Panmure district titled 'Panmure - Sense of Place', commissioned by Auckland City Council.

Her art crosses diverse trades. ropeworks was created with the expertise of blacksmith Dave Watts, and many others from the construction industry. But she also works with textiles in the fashion industry under her signature brand, Cabal. "This project has inspired me to think about where I could go next in terms of contributing to urban forms. I'm passionate about the processes that we go through as communities - getting all sorts of people involved so that design is empowering in the widest sense.

"As an artist I don't see too many boundaries for what I can create, or be part of creating. My practice is constantly evolving as I go along responding to people I meet and the opportunities that arise. In a way dressing environments is not so different from dressing people. Someone likened ropeworks to a brooch but I see it as more of a talisman - a symbol of heritage, connection and empowerment."

Caroline Robinson's public commissions include Basket of Dreams on the Time Walk Heritage Trail above Queenstown and Wayfinder on the New Lynn Community Centre.