A colourful new eye-catching sculpture now greets motorists as they enter New Brighton.
The Jester is the creation of well-known sculptor Don Paterson and sits on Seaview Rd at the entrance to the seaside suburb.
The colourful piece has been placed on the corner of Paterson's property, where it has replaced his controversial Bearman sculpture.
"(It's) a bit different from the bear, which was talking about the chaos that New Brighton was facing, and it was time for something a little bit more people-friendly and jovial," Paterson said.
Paterson, a big rugby fan who watches New Brighton at Rawhiti Domain, has been painted black and yellow, the colours worn by the rugby club.
Paterson says the sculpture is a self-portrait with bits of other artists he knows thrown in and is a commentary on the nature of art and the creative process.
Paterson, who is one of New Zealand's leading civic sculptors, was instrumental in the development of large-scale steampunk projects in Oamaru. But the sculptor admits he has found it hard to get his ideas accepted in New Brighton.
"Perhaps I'm too controversial," Paterson said.
"That my ideas are a little bit too far out for some people, but I think you need that.
"You need that when you're rebuilding a community and how do we draw people here?
"We don't draw them here by doing what we can see all over the country."
He and his wife love living in New Brighton and have met a lot of talented people in the area.
Paterson believes the regeneration of the suburb is a great opportunity for everyone to work together to produce something dynamic.
"Art could really be used as a drawcard for New Brighton and perhaps, if some of the people in power could maybe embrace me, I'm not telling anyone they have to do my ideas, but just do something that's different.
"And I can help them if they want."
He's working on a number of other pieces at the moment, some of which he would like to see displayed in the seaside suburb.
By Geoff Sloan
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
