The artwork, Yogi, is made of steel to look like rocks stacked on top of each other.
Pearce said it reflects a giant or a friendly character to look over the town.
“It’s quite playful.
“I really love geological rock formations and really like things like Stonehenge where humans have imbued more meaning on a rock form by the way they are placed.
“From different angles, you may be able to see a figure.”
The new sculpture is part of the council agreement to showcase different art pieces in the space, and has been loaned in partnership with SCAPE Public Art.
Pearce was commissioned by SCAPE and the council to make the piece, which had to be durable to the weather and conditions of being on the main street, such as people sitting on it or leaning bikes against it.
Pearce once set his bedroom alight while creating a sculpture. He was glueing model planes together using a candle, which he left unattended. The resulting fire caused damage to his room and smoke damage elsewhere in the house.
After the fire, he used the curtains from the Palmerston North house as canvases to paint on. Pearce said he would sell the paintings to pay back his mum for the fire damage.
When was also 14, Pearce entered a competition for his art to be on the cover of the phone book, which he won. He used the $2500 prize money to go to art school.
“That actually set me up and helped pay for my first year of art school.”
Pearce completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in sculpture, at Whanganui’s Quay School of Fine Arts in 2003, and has exhibited regularly since.
Yogi will be in place in Lincoln until the end of May and will be on sale through SCAPE.
