The Wind Wand is a 48-metre kinetic sculpture located in New Plymouth

New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The sculpture includes a 45-metre tube of red fibreglass, and was made to designs by artist Len Lye

Len Lye

Len Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a Christchurch, New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives such as the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Pacific...

. To residents, it is one of the main icons of New Plymouth. Originally installed in December 1999 along with the Coastal Walkway, it had to be taken down within weeks. After repairs it was reinstalled in June 2001. The red fibreglass tube stands vertical in still air, but bends in the wind. The globe at its tip glows red at night.

Materials

The Wind Wand is constructed out of fibreglass and carbon fibre. It weighs around 900 kg and has a diameter of 200 mm. The Wind Wand can bend at least 20 m. The red sphere on the top contains 1,296 light-emitting diodes.