We're calling on volunteers, locals, visitors, families and friends of Waiheke and beyond (all ages 7 and up welcome), to take part in a one-off community action for Sculpture on the Gulf 2027: Unarmoured, a new work by artist Melissa Macleod.

The idea is simple, and it only works with enough of us: we come together, shoulder to shoulder, head to foot, along the Matiatia Beach foreshore and form a living flood bank — a brief human embrace of the coastline that shapes so many of our arrivals and departures.

Register your place

 

Good to know

Date: Saturday 31 October — rain day Sunday 1 November

Time: 2:00pm — please arrive a little earlier so everyone can be placed along the line

Location: Matiatia Beach foreshore — ferry terminal to the stream outlet

Who: Anyone aged 7 and up. We need 350+ people, ideally 400, to form the line. Participants under 18 must register with, and be accompanied on the day by, a parent or guardian.

You'll receive: Registered attendee’s receive one free entry ticket to Sculpture on the Gulf 2027 

 

The details

• The whole gathering will take about 1½ hours, including a briefing, placement, and a sausage sizzle to finish.

• Avoid earthy browns and khaki — you'll disappear into the sand!

• Bring sunblock, a hat and water.

• The first formation will involve lying on the sand, the second will be standing — let us know on the form if lying down isn't possible for you and we'll place you accordingly.

• Younger participants will be placed beside their parent or guardian and supervised by them throughout the formations.

• Terms & conditions apply

Register your place

 

Working title: Unarmoured

A temporal performance project, or action.

Aim: To bring a large number of people together to create a human flood bank or protective wall along the Matiatia Beach foreshore; a brief human embrace of this coastal environment.

Concept: The Shoreline Adaption Plan (SAP) 2025 places Matiatia Bay on their vulnerable list; as being 'Unarmoured'. Spanning 700m (Ferry Terminal to stream outlet) Matiatia Bay’s story is a complex and fragile one, witness to a continuous movement of locals and visitors in transit.

This project aims to be interactive and community driven; a coming together in actual numbers. It is hoped that around 400 participants will gather and form a line of solidarity, a (brief) offering back to the land and sea. Existing for the duration of SOTG as a photographic image, this photo will be the remaining proof that the Matiatia beach had been occupied, and 'armoured'- albeit fleetingly.

Terms and conditions apply. You must register your place to attend and receive your Sculpture on the Gulf ticket.

Bring family (kids aged 7 and up are welcome), bring your neighbours, bring whoever you can. This only works at scale — and Matiatia belongs to all of us. Finally, please forward this email to anyone you think would like to attend.

See you on the shore.

 

Ngā mihi nui,

The Sculpture on the Gulf team