Oliver Stretton-Pow

Oliver Stretton-Pow

Hard Graft, 2024, wood, copper, and bronze.

Hard Graft was inspired by the Cape Reinga lighthouse, which has long assisted boats passing the northwesternmost tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula. There, in Māori tradition, spirits are said to depart the living world and journey back to Hawaiki. Further down the cape, a single pōhutukawa tree, known as Te Aroha, clings to the rocks, marking the gateway to Te Hinenui o te Po, the underworld. In Oliver Stretton-Pow’s work, these symbols are synthesised in a homage to this special place. His lighthouse has sprung roots, pushing it out of the earth.

Oliver Stretton-Pow (b.1968) is a Waiheke local who describes his work as ‘making history’. In 1992 He graduated from Claremont School of Art in Perth, and, in 2004, completed his MFA at Elam School of Fine Arts, Tāmaki Makaurau. He exhibits regularly in other public-sculpture festivals, such as Sydney’s Sculpture by the Sea and the Gold Coast’s Swell Sculpture Festival.