Chris Booth

Chris Booth and his almost completed sculpture in his hometown Kerikeri on 26 March 2009. An anonymous benefactor paid $500,000 towards construction costs.^[1]

Chris Booth, (born 30 December 1948)^[2] is a widely acclaimed New Zealand sculptor. Born at Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, he was the 1982 recipient of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship.

Booth studied at the University of Canterbury's school of fine arts before taking two years of specialist sculptural study with such prominent sculptors as Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell.

Booth's work – largely made on commission – is usually monumental in form, and can be found throughout New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and North America.

Booth was featured in the 1991 documentary film When A Warrior Dies^[3] which focused on his construction of a very large and imposing sculpture at Matauri Bay overlooking the Cavalli Islands for the Ngati Kura people of the district. The sculpture stands before the resting place of the MV Rainbow Warrior which was bombed and sunk by French Government DGSE secret agents^[4] in Auckland on 10 July 1985. The Rainbow Warrior propellor is in the centre of the sculpture,^[5] surrounded by an arch of large basalt boulders recovered from a local beach.

References

1. ^ Far North District Council, Booth Sculpture Nears Completion (link dead)
2. ^ International Who’s Who 2004, BOOTH, Chris, New Zealand sculptor
3. ^ NZ On Screen, When A Warrior Dies
4. ^ Timesonline, Mitterrand ordered bombing of Rainbow Warrior
5. ^ DayOut New Zealand, Matauri Bay

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Name	Booth, Christopher
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Date of birth	30 December 1948
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