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Neil Dawson - Mahana Dome
Deep within the winery cellars, Neil Dawson’s Mahana Dome is suspended from an invisible ceiling in the wine library vaults at Woollaston Estates. Buried below thousands of tonnes of the same Moutere clay / gravels in which the Pinot Noir roots flourish, the inverted dome – a delicate filigree of stylized weather, vine, grape and wine glass images – is Neil’s homage to the elements which are the ultimate source of the wine.
The steel dome, the ‘invisible’ ceiling above and the carefully positioned lights – with the shadows they cast on the cylindrical concrete wall – are all integral parts of the work, which is truly site specific. The circular tasting table below, though not part of the work, has been carefully designed to complement it. The wooden top was made by local woodworker Ruth Hesselyn from Giant Redwood timber milled from a colonial era stand in North Nelson (the same timber as is used in the cellar wine racks and the doors throughout the building); the base was made in Andrew Drummond’s Christchurch sculpture studio.
Christchurch born and a graduate of both Canterbury University (Dip. F.A. Hons) and the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne (Diploma in Sculpture), Neil Dawson has established an international reputation for his innovative sculpture, in particular his large-scale, site-specific suspended sculptures. He has an impressive portfolio of works held both in New Zealand and overseas, including Chalice, an 18m-high conical structure installed in Cathedral Square Christchurch.
