Grave measures taken for artwork

Artist Jodie Salmond contemplates her Hopes for the Future yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

However, it is not the $198 million Forsyth Barr Stadium, but a stadium art installation which is in the spotlight.

Hopes for the Future, by former Dunedin artist Jodie Salmond, features a 1m-deep grave containing a miniature white stadium floodlit by halogen spotlights.

"The project explores the different ways that we search for meanings and answers in life," she said yesterday.

"The grave motif is used to present a strong image to the viewer of the finite nature of living and put into perspective this hunt for meaning during our lifetimes.

"It's about the search for meaning and the methods we employ in that search. There are many different ways of navigating through life and the hunt for meanings during living can be a difficult and varied process."

The temporary off-site installation, on the corner of Gowland and Albany Sts, was a reflection on the finality of death, Ms Salmond said.

"It looks at the different methods of truth-seeking used to decide what to believe in today's world. How much has our process of giving meaning to the passing of loved ones been short-circuited by superficial spectacles and shallow gestures?"

Visitors will be invited to sit and think as spectators to the only real certainty in life - its end."

Blue Oyster Gallery director Jaenine Parkinson said the work was originally designed to be installed in the gallery's art project space, but trustees had baulked at the idea of the floor being dug up.

"It took a while to find an outdoor site, because we needed a green space without trees. We asked lots and lots of people, before finding a site ... where everybody said 'Yes'."

The viewings have to be supervised because of the depth of the grave.

The installation will be unveiled at 8pm today and will be open from 9pm to 10.30pm until Sunday.