A new pop up sculpture has been installed on the shores of Lake Wānaka by The Lakes District Arts Trust. 

The lights were switched on in the new sculpture - which was inspired by art, physics, mathematics, light and technology - yesterday evening (Wednesday October 28).

The temporary art installation by the American Hyperspace Bypass Construction Zone (HYBYCOZO), called ‘Deep Thought’, will remain in position on the lakefront at western end of Helwick Street for six weeks.

The artwork was organised by the Lakes District Arts Trust and was brought to New Zealand by Vesica - a collaboration of artists.

The trust was introduced to HYBYCOZO’s work during the alert level four lockdown, and trustees were taken by its unique beauty and inspired by its title.

“This art installation will leave you feeling a sense of wonder and joy - a sense of amazement at the form, light and shadow,” the trustees said in a statement. “It is the artists’ hope that the viewer will interact with the sculpture with a sense of curiosity and wonder about the geometry of the shape and the meaning of the pattern.

Lakes District Arts Trust trustees in front of the emerging sculpture: (from left) Pauline Bianchi, Linda Falconer, Jeri Elliot, Jan Maxwell, and Chris Hadfield (Wanaka Community Board). PHOTO: Supplied

“We hope in the public sphere, our installation feels like a place of refuge and a place to find some peace in a busy environment.”

Trustee Chris Hadfield, who represents the Wanaka Community Board on the trust, said the interactive sculpture - which people can walk inside - is intended to be a place for introspection.

“It’s a contemplative space - it seems to have got people thinking.”

People can interact with the artwork PHOTO: Wanaka App

Chris said public artworks such as this one would normally be outside Wanaka’s means, and hosting temporary artworks with the help of the Lakes District Arts Trust makes such work accessible.

After six weeks in Wanaka, ‘Deep Thought’ will be moved to Queenstown for a further six weeks in early January. The artwork is available for purchase from Artbay Gallery. Ten per cent of revenue from a sale would be donated to the Lakes District Arts Trust.

The HYBYCOZO sculptors live in San Francisco, but ‘Deep Thought’ was made in New Zealand. Over the past few years, HYBYCOZO work has appeared in civic installations in Singapore and Dubai and exhibitions at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery.