Artist: Phil Price, 2003
Location: Waitematā Plaza
Materials: epoxy and glass, composite skin with foam core
Sponsor: Auckland City Sculpture Trust
Comprised of 16 pod-like discs that move both individually and collectively in the wind, no two views of Cytoplasm are the same. Herein lies much of the work's attraction; it is an embodiment of art and science.
The artist, Phil Price, honed his skills working with motorcycle designer John Britten in the 1980s. He became interested in exploring how modern materials, such as high performance plastics developed by NASA, could be used in art.
Cytoplasm has been described as a cactus, a sea plant, a windmill, a science fiction creature and a futuristic tree. In a sense it is all of these. The artist is interested in the viewer's personal response to these strange waving forms.