Installed in February 2020, Yolunda Hickman's work, Signal Forest was a thicket of entangled images on each plinth. Based on stencil motifs, the simplified shapes depicted a range of animals, plants, transportation, technology, and cultural items. The shapes were applied with a pattern or image drawn from the collection and archives of Te Papa Tongarewa, further entangling forms and the boundaries of classification and meaning.
Yolunda Hickman comes from a painting background and her work takes an interest in the contemporary nature of images—how we’re surrounded by them and how we try to deduce meaning. Yolunda has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand, is a Doctoral candidate at The University of Auckland and a lecturer at Whitecliffe.
The 4 Plinths Sculpture Award
With the 4 Plinths Award, the Wellington Sculpture Trust has made a departure from permanent to temporary public art, and showcases New Zealand sculptural practice with biennial sculpture installations. The aim of the project is to foster art, artists and audience interactions, and to provide an opportunity for established and emerging artists to work in the area of large-scale public sculpture.
The Trust acknowledges with warm appreciation its major sponsors, Wellington City Council and the Public Art Fund, as well as the support of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Seresin Wines.
Signal Forest occupied the 4 Plinths from 2020 until 2022.
