Jeff Thomson Rebecca, 2019
Corrugated iron, 7000 x 2000 x 2000 mm (mast 7000 mm) approx
Using his favoured material, corrugated iron, Jeff Thomson’s Rebecca references early NZ classic yacht designs and the long history of boats moored at Matiatia and elsewhere around the coast of Waiheke.
The subject matter and the attention to detail in construction of this yacht reflect our nation’s love of boat building and the sea. The iconic material enforces the nostalgic and quintessential Kiwi “do it yourself” attitude. It can be seen as a sophisticated advancement of the single sheet of iron, tar-caulked, tin canoe that those of a certain generation will remember from their youth. This sculpture was inspired by her namesake ‘Rebecca’, a 1902 built gaff-rigged yacht originally called Dolphin, which was restored and renamed by the late Peter Smith and his wife Jill Smith during the 1970s.