Message in a vessel

NZ sculptor Roger Thompson is one of 400 artists from 65 different countries exhibiting at the second annual Beijing International Art Biennale. His Cultural Vessels/Amphoric Triptych is a collection of three containers representing the myriad aspects making up NZ’s cultural history. “The remote geography of NZ is explored through sailing ships, waves, the sea, the rhythm of the music, a Maori cross, the manaia, a pacific fish hook, a fishing net, umbrella, spirals, koru – the unfolding fern leaf of growth,” he says. In 2003, Thomas was invited by the Changchun International Sculpture Conference to make a piece for the local sculpture garden – Turangawaewae New Zealand (pictured above).