Denis O'Connor: Rudderstone		Dimensions: H 3.5m x L 6.19m x W 0.25m
Sculptor: Denis O\'Connor				Location: Manuka Way, Botanic Gardens
Materials: Azul blue marble, carrara white marble, black fossil marble				Date of installation: 1997

Presented to the city in 1997, assisted by grants from Creative NZ and Wellington City Council.

"The void of the doorway is in a rudder formation and symbolically memorialises our migrant cultures. A rudder is a guiding principle, a device that steers us on our journey.

"To ritually walk through this rudder image engages the body in a metaphor for the journey that the New World we live in challenges us to take. Rudderstone is to be walked or passed through.

"The millions of exploding fossilised leaves vividly trapped in the black marble are a visual experience not unlike the view of the night sky.

"This marble confirms the metaphor of passage to another realm and its high polish reflects the image of those who stand in front of it. The vivid blue and white stripes of the reverse side are abstracted panoramic streams of sea and sky so familiar to the mind's eye of Pacific coast dwellers and maritime voyagers.

"The turquoise blue Azul marble from Brazil and the crisp laundered white of the Carrara marble from Italy glow luminously in this position where direct sunlight is filtered."

Denis O'Connor