Artist Martin Hill and his collaborator Philippa Jones create rare pieces of art that can only be seen in unique locations in the great outdoors. Fortunately, the artist tends to record his creations with a camera so we all can admire the wonderful objects that my exist only for a brief period. He may use, for instance, ice or snow and set up a sculpture on a mountaintop in New Zealand.
Martin Hill and Philippa Jones live on New Zealand’s Lake Wanaka, where many of his works are set. It is not the only place where he has worked. To create the sculptures, Hill and Jones have travelled far away from Lake Wanaka: from Antarctica to moss-covered rain forests.
Watch Martin Hill’s video below, or at his home page.
The pair started working on a project titled the Fine Line project in 1995, and it is still an active, ongoing project. They are building sculptures on mountaintops so that they form a line that circles the earth. It requires careful mapping, planning and perseverance, but if they have been pursuing the project for 20 years already. Let’s hope someone shows us satellite photos of the project soon.
Martin Hill told Fast Company: “Philippa and I love to go to wild natural landscapes especially in the mountains. We make our sculptures where we love to be.” Recently, they created a work called Ice Circle (a semi-circle) on Lake Wanaka. You can see the work on video below. Hill told how the photo of the work was taken: “We set it in the lake with a reflection at dusk to get the great light effect,” says Hill. “A low camera angle provided the drama.”
Watch the Watershed Experience video by Martin Hill that shows many of his artworks on the mountains of New Zealand and how they were created. The video is over seven minutes long, but every second is worth watching.
Watershed Experience from Martin Hill on Vimeo.