Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf 2027 is shaped by the curatorial vision of Heather Galbraith and Benjamin Work, who together have developed the framework for the 2027 exhibition, The Ocean Remembers the Shore.
Drawing on Waiheke Island's long history as a place of shelter and connection — reflected in its original name, Te Motu Ārai Roa, The Long Sheltering Island — Galbraith and Work have invited artists to respond across four sub-themes: The Ocean and the Shore, Regeneration, Shelter, and Connections/Connectedness. The result is a rich spectrum of works exploring how contemporary sculpture can respond to site, story, and the layered history of this coastline.
"The ocean is not just a body; it is a memory keeper. Sculpture becomes a way of listening to the ocean's memory. The shore and the coast are where land and water, humans and non-humans, the past and the future come together in an ongoing dialogue."
— Co-curators Heather Galbraith and Benjamin Work
Heather Galbraith
Heather Galbraith is a curator, writer and educator from Tāmaki Makaurau, who has held senior curatorial and management roles at St Paul St. Gallery AUT University, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University, where she is a Professor of Fine Arts. Galbraith was part of New Zealand presentations at the Venice Biennale (2009, 2013, 2015) and Managing Curator for SCAPE Public Art, Ōtautahi (2016, 2017, 2018). Recently, she curated Judy Darragh: Competitive Plastics and is the curatorial member of the Trans-Tasman Deep Material Energy collective of jewellers/object makers. Governance roles include being a board member for Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington and Chair of Contemporary HUM Arts Trust.
Benjamin Work
Benjamin Work (b.1979) is a Tāmaki Makaurau–based artist of Tongan and Orcadian/Shetlander lineage, holding an MFA from Elam School of Fine Arts. His practice integrates contemporary and traditional influences, reflecting the layered complexities of Moana Oceania identity, and centres on what he terms tu‘u vaha‘a “occupying the in-between”, a space through which he navigates the stories of his maternal lineage and his lived experience in Aotearoa. In 2024, he was awarded an artist residency at Parehuia, McCahon House, and became the inaugural winner of the Fatu Feu‘u Pacific Arts Prize. His work continues to be exhibited locally and internationally and is represented in major collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Auckland Museum, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).