Fabric Structures
Project name: Te Wheke
Material used: Bainflate 210
Fabric Supplied By: QCD Limited
2022 Awards for Excellence Winner – Other
What did the client request?
Te Wheke was a display done by Lisa Reihana to be part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of The arts. It was one of six installations that made up the series, Kura Moana, focusing on Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, the great ocean, and celebrating the role of the ocean plays between Aotearoa and its Pacific neighbours.
What is unique or complex about the project?
It is not often you get to recreate an art piece this large and to this detail. There were complexities throughout the project and it was difficult not to let it run away. There was tight timing on the project, we had a limited amount of fabric and a thin roll width, the model supplied was very organic and non-repetitive. To save on the fabric we used as little baffles as possible and produced a lot of patterns to keep wastage down.
What were the results of the project?
The form was almost identical to the clients supplied model and gave the painter the ability to produce exactly what Lisa and her team had envisioned. The whole inflatable was well balanced and intergraded well with the clients pontoon system.
