Earlier this year, prestigious artist and Wintec Media Arts alumni Paul Darragh had his sculpture, a positive and joyous beacon of LGBTQI+ pride, named ‘Progress Pillar’, on display as part of the 2024 Boon Sculpture Trail in Kirikiriroa | Hamilton.
With many seeing his sculpture as a symbol of hope and a celebration of the LGBTQI+ community, it gained backing from a community of locals who campaigned to crowdfund the $7000 required to keep the sculpture in Hamilton, where its story began, and have it permanently on display.
The Progress Pillar now stands triumphantly at the newly refurbished Hamilton Transport Centre, where it was officially unveiled on Wednesday, 6 November as part of the centre’s opening ceremony
Hamilton City Councillor Louise Hutt said she was approached towards the end of the Boon Sculpture Trail to see if keeping Paul’s piece in Kirikiriroa would be a possibility.
“Paul's art had been mentioned to me by several members of the public as a particular favourite - which made me think crowd-funding could be possible. Like a lot of other people I imagine, I'm not in a place to purchase any one piece myself, but being able to collaborate with other people to keep it in our community was a special opportunity.
“I know a few people who work in crowd-funding so I approached them with the pitch and checked in to see if this would be viable - nationally, other artworks of a similar size and price tag had been successfully crowd-funded, so I felt like it was worth giving a go.”
So, Louise set up the crowd-funding page on Boosted, reached out to people and networks she thought would be interested in contributing or sharing, and just kept posting about it across her social media.
“Boosted, the funding platform, were really helpful and I was grateful to the Waikato Times for their piece about it, as that secured us a final donation which got us across the line.”
Louise said it was important to keep the piece in the city because she found that it really struck a chord with people.
Hamilton City Councillor Louise Hutt next to the Progress Pillar.
“It represented our aspirations for being an inclusive, vibrant city that visibly celebrates our rainbow community. I know it wasn't only people from the rainbow community donating and it speaks to how attitudes have changed across the city. Plus, it's bright, interesting, and aesthetically pretty cool of its own accord.
“Paul's story of living here in the early 2000s as a member of the LGBTQI+ community, and not feeling that the city was safe and welcoming to him, and then years later using this opportunity to explicitly make something to make our city more welcoming, is a beautiful choice for an artist to make. While it could have gone elsewhere in the country, it made me proud that we could keep it here where its roots began and install it somewhere which is well-used by many young people in our city.
“As a queer person myself, this project was a real highlight to be involved in,” she said.
When describing the Progress Pillar, Paul said the sculpture celebrated LGBTQI+ history from Aotearoa and beyond, inspired by the theme "This Place" from the Boon Sculpture Trail.
Paul's journey of self-discovery began in Hamilton in 2000, where he initially struggled in an environment with limited LGBTQI+ representation. His path led him through Wellington, Melbourne, and New York City, where he connected with the broader queer community and historical movements like Stonewall. While in New York, he witnessed a powerful moment in New Zealand's history.
"Watching with pride the footage from New Zealand Parliament following the 2013 marriage reform and the following rendition of Pokarekare Ana."
This experience, coupled with reflection on Georgina Beyer's pioneering role as the world's first openly transgender Mayor and MP in the 1990s, deeply influenced his work.
These experiences shaped the creation of his sculpture, Progress Pillar, which he describes as "a positive and joyous beacon of LGBTQI+ pride." The sculpture stands as a proud figure with twelve sides, each featuring colourful abstractions of queer history from Aotearoa and beyond.
"Its intention is one of joy, pride and hope," Paul explains, representing both his personal journey and society's evolution in LGBTQI+ acceptance.
Paul said he was “totally humbled” by the response to keep the sculpture in Hamilton, and it validated his intention to create more visibility for LGBTQ+ people.
“I grew up in Matamata and didn't want to stick around for longer than I had to. Being a gay kid in a rural town in the 90's had its own set of issues. Therefore, I was keen to expedite my experience at Matamata College.
“I found out at the start of [my sixth form] year that if I had a high set of grades, I could potentially be accepted into Wintec’s Media Arts Programme. So, I made that my mission for that year. I had wanted to be a graphic designer for a long time and had already been creating websites in my spare time (at the dawn of the internet), so I was very focused and driven to get studying my desired vocation. I put together a portfolio of paintings with a lot of support from my high school art teacher and I was accepted, starting in March of 2000.
“It was a fantastic year, and I was so inspired by the course, by the tutors and the projects. It seemed like I was living my art school fantasy. I only studied at Wintec for one year as the following year I transferred to Massey University in Wellington because I wanted to live down there. However - I much preferred the Media Arts Program to the Bachelor of Design that I had transferred to,” Paul said.
Paul, now based in Tauranga, said as an artist he always has several things going on.
“I still work on freelance motion design projects for studios in New York, (the same places I worked for when I lived there). I'm also currently doing a redesign of my partners Barbershop here at The Mount (Called Forty Thieves Barbershop). I have created a 360 degree rebrand including logo and brand, social graphics, store interiors, and outdoor murals. I'm also working on a domestic painting commission.”
