Pacific Monarch by Paul Dibble, 1992

Pacific Monarch is a semi-abstracted figure that looks to be balanced on two spindly props (this is a visual illusion, as the figure is in fact supported by an internal steel armature winding through the leg and body). The figure’s headdress of leaves is intentionally ambiguous as to whether it is a ceremonial Pacific crown or more reminiscent of the Greenman of Celtic Europe. The figure is blindfolded, an indication of the state of the settlers who were immigrants to an unknown land, blind to their futures. On the underside of the legs are barnacles, while honeycomb and bees are present further up the torso; bees moving into abandoned structures, here as analogy for the stories and myths from an old land left behind, and barnacles as if on the underside of a ship suggesting the long voyage settlers made. In one hand the figure holds a plumb bob, demonstrating an intent to settle. The other hand balances a globe, acknowledging that many settlers moved halfway round the world to their new home. Notably the United States of America has been omitted from the globe (a quiet protest by Dibble on the emphasis given to international art by curators at the time). A clear view of New Zealand is evident from the ground, where people look up at the work from below. A video of the making of Pacific Monarch, titled “Intent to Construct”, aired on national television." data-src="">
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