Renate Verbrugge, 2020
From its elevated position Mothers and Daughters, by Belgian-born New Plymouth-based sculptor Renate Verbrugge keeps a watchful eye on the processions along the city’s acclaimed coastal walkway where it was installed in September 2020.
Renate was introduced to stone sculpture in 1999 by noted Tongan artist Filipe Tohi, also then resident in New Plymouth. Each of the four women utilises different coloured Taranaki andesite stone, a representation of women of different cultures.
Renata notes that the work is a tribute to all women and their mothers. The figures are intentionally cuddly to encourage and allow most people to relate to them, and the artist encourages interaction and contact.
The site chosen for the work is notable to the artist in that it references her introduction to sculpting at the long-running Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Symposium, a bi-annual festival held nearby.
The Trust commissioned the work for a total cost of $50,000.
