Gibbs Farm

Alan Gibbs began commissioning sculpture for his farm on the Kaipara Harbour in 1991, and the scale is what separates it from other sculpture parks: the works are made for the site, and several are among the largest sculptures by their artists anywhere - Richard Serra's Te Tuhirangi Contour, a steel wall two hundred and fifty-odd metres long following the land's contour; Anish Kapoor's Dismemberment Site I, a vast tensioned membrane in a valley; Neil Dawson's Horizons, a sheet of steel appearing to float on a ridge; works by Bernar Venet, Daniel Buren, Sol LeWitt, Maya Lin and others. The setting is a working farm with giraffes, zebra, emus and bison kept on it, which visitors are warned to keep away from. Access is the constraint: it opens only on scheduled days, bookings fill immediately when released, and you cannot arrive without one. The walk between works is several kilometres over open paddock.

History

Alan Gibbs bought the 400 hectares of the farm in 1991 and has since collected major works by New Zealand and overseas artists, many of them commissioned to use the landscape. Eric Orr's Electrum (for Len Lye) is the world's largest Tesla coil, 11.6 metres tall (Wikipedia, Gibbs Farm).

What you'll find

• Te Tuhirangi Contour - Serra's steel wall following the land.
• Dismemberment Site I - Kapoor's membrane across a valley.
• Horizons - Dawson's steel sheet on the ridge.
• The working farm - giraffes, zebra and bison among the works.

When to go

Only on the scheduled open days, which are announced annually and book out immediately - register for notification well in advance. There is no other way in.

Good to know

You cannot visit without a confirmed booking, and bookings are genuinely hard to get. The walk is several kilometres over farmland with no shade. Livestock and exotic animals are present and must be kept clear of.

Nearby

Kaukapakapa and Helensville are the nearest towns, to the south; Auckland is about 47 kilometres south-east.

Key facts