Spiky Red Thing

I'm the Spiky Red Thing. I occupy the piece of grass.. errr... weedy bit of ground between the Hobson Street on-ramp and the Nelson St off-ramp right in the heart of Auckland city. I replaced the avant-garde "steaming turd" sculpture or whatever that thing was.

Set on a stylish six metre diameter concrete base covered in green bathroom tiles I also have 105 five metre tall red fibreglass spikes. My spikes represent Pohutukawa stamen (but you probably guessed that, right?).

.. As with many things in life the secret is hidden in the details. People who only give me a fleeting glance will miss the essential detail that my spiky red spikes are made to move - yes, move! A whole 50cms if needed. They've also got yellow 'corks' on the end which light up at night. Nice one!

I've been called "mildly kinetic" and "visually dynamic" by others. It's worth noting I have only three colours in my make-up - red, yellow and green. Coordination is essential in this day and age. We don't want to freak people with too much colour.

Basically, in lieu of there not being such a large and beautiful (real) Pohutukawa tree available I am the official merkin Pohutukawa of Auckland city.

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