3 min read1 Anish Kapoor – Dismemberment, Site 1, 2009, mild steel tube and tensioned fabric. Each end 25x8m, length 85m, Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, photo: CC BY-SA 2.02 by Andym58553
Gibbs Farm is a private sculpture park open to the public only on select dates with pre-booked tickets.
Tickets are in high demand and must be booked well in advance through the Gibbs Farm website. No on-site ticket sales are available.
Proceeds often go to charitable causes, and ticket prices can be high, with some events charging around 0 NZD per adult.
Accessibility
The site spans approximately 1,000 acres of rolling farmland, requiring significant walking on uneven terrain.
While the paths are generally well-maintained, they are not suitable for strollers or wheelchairs.
Visitors with mobility challenges may find it difficult to explore the entire farm.
Before you go
Attire: Wear sturdy walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. In winter or after rain, gumboots are strongly recommended due to muddy and slippery conditions.
Behavior: Photography is allowed, but drone use is strictly prohibited. Do not approach or feed the roaming animals. Alcohol is not permitted on-site.
Nearby attractions: Explore the Kaipara Coast Highway for scenic drives, and visit nearby cafes in Helensville, Wellsford, or Waitoki for refreshments. Additionally, take in the views of the Kaipara Harbour and the Gibbs Sculpture Park visible from SH16 for a preview of the artworks.
Supplies: Bring water, sunscreen, and snacks, as there are no on-site refreshment facilities. Toilets are available but limited.
Best visit time
The farm is only open on select days during the year, typically in warmer months to avoid the wet and muddy winter season.
Aim for a sunny day to fully enjoy the expansive views and sculptures.
Arrive early to maximize your four-hour visiting window and make the most of the limited access.
Avoid rainy weather, as the terrain becomes difficult to navigate.
DirectionsBy car
Gibbs Farm is located at 2421 Kaipara Coast Highway, approximately an hour’s drive north of Auckland. Follow State Highway 16 to the entrance, which is clearly marked.
By public transport
There are no public transportation options to Gibbs Farm. Visitors must rely on private vehicles or organized tours.
Parking
Free parking is available on-site near the entrance.
North of Auckland, in a stretch of land called Gibbs Farms, sits Anish Kapoor’s1Dismemberment, Site 1 (2009). The scale of this sculpture is frighteningly extraordinary and is the largest one that Kapoor has ever created; it is the height of an eight story building.
How the work makes you feel
Unsurprisingly, the sculpture makes little effort to blend in with the expansive landscape; however, it does a great job of complementing it. The artwork imposes itself on you, and it draws you in, dominating the area in which it sits, so much so that the sculpture appears to have always been there. This speaks to the work that went into the sculpture’s construction and design.
Video of Dismemberment, Site 1, 2009
1 min 15 sec
The sculpture transforms into a trumpet
Kapoor had to create a free-standing sculpture that would last for long, which is why the monumental sculpture was created using Serge Ferrari textile that is set up to survive harsh winds and severe weather conditions. The sculpture elicits various visual sensations and interpretations from the scores of people that arrive daily at Gibbs’s farm. At first sight, the Dismemberment sculpture looks like a swollen ear whose primary purpose is to capture the landscape’s sounds and spirit. However, with every winding turn you take, the sculpture transforms into a large external trumpet that appears to be signaling and calling travelers from distant lands.
Open monthly by prior appointment only to artists, educational institutions, charities and the public. Booking form3
Analysis
In a way, it bears a resemblance to the trumpet that Joshua45 used to spy on the town of Jericho in the Bible67. Like with every art installation, the audience reserves the right to interpret a masterpiece depending on the feelings that the piece evokes. Some people have interpreted the sculpture and found it to represent a large-sized vulva, while others think that it represents the head and nucleus of a large bright flower.
Conclusion
Kapoor created the sculpture as a way of connecting the body to the sky. The red tubular structure symbolizes colostomy bags, and the red color represents the insides of the human body. The red is internal, but it externalizes itself in various ways. The sculpture also suggests that it may be a motherly creature brought forth by the earth. The tube represents flesh, skin, or a dismembered artery bleeding on the ground, possibly feeding and rejuvenating the soil it rests on. From within, the sculpture is intimate and private. However, from inside it, the landscape emerges, paving the way to new life on a fragile earth.
Video: Anish Kapoor speaks about his works
1 h 8 min
Photos of Dismemberment, Site 1
4 Anish Kapoor – Dismemberment, Site 1, 2009, mild steel tube and tensioned fabric. Each end 25x8m, length 85m, Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, photo: CC BY-SA 2.05 by Andym585567 Anish Kapoor – Dismemberment, Site 1, 2009, mild steel tube and tensioned fabric. Each end 25x8m, length 85m, Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, photo: CC BY-NC 2.08 by RobiNZ910 Anish Kapoor – Dismemberment, Site 1, 2009, mild steel tube and tensioned fabric. Each end 25x8m, length 85m, Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, photo: CC BY-NC 2.011 by RobiNZ1213 Anish Kapoor – Dismemberment, Site 1, 2009, mild steel tube and tensioned fabric. Each end 25x8m, length 85m, Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, photo: CC BY-NC 2.014 by RobiNZ15
All images by Anish Kapoor unless otherwise noted.
1 min 15 sec
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