Totem wings its way to new home

The largest artwork ever housed at Mangawhai Art Gallery (MAI) ‘Tsarina Tamara’ flew the nest on March 6, enroute to its new home in Matakana. The stunning 1.8 metre totem bird will feature in a private sculpture garden, along with a giant giraffe statue and over 20 free-range chickens, each with their individual ‘house’. Mangawhai artists Elena Nikolaeva and Deva Prem spent two summers creating the mosaic bird from polystyrene, concrete and thousands of cut tiles and coloured gems. Although a hefty weight, Nikolaeva, MAI chair Howard Esler, artist Shann Whitaker and Prem, along with a helpful passing local, were able to manoeuvre the sculpture through the gallery doorway on a trolley, hoist it into the old oak tree outside and strap it safely into the back of a ute, without losing a single tile.