I was recently at Te Papa in Wellington. Te Papa is the National Museum of New Zealand. It shows both, exhibitions about the history of the country and also art exhibitions. The history section covers the time from the settles until today but it also shows the rich history of the Maori (the population that immigrated over thousands of years from the Pacific Islands).
A very special new exhibition called “Gallipoli The Scale of our War”, covers the history of the Australian and New Zealand troops trying to storm the Turkish bastions at Gallipoli, Turkey during WW I. This operation became a major failure with the loss of high numbers of lives on both sides.
Please find here the link to the Te Papa website that covers the Gallipoli exhibition. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/exhibitions/gallipoli-scale-our-war
Before I came to New Zealand in 2009 I did not know about Gallipoli and the tragic events there. During my school time both, WW I and WW II were covered extensively during history lessons. However the historical events were looked at from a western European perspective. Neither Gallipoli nor the the Pacific War during WW II were really covered and discussed. For me it was a very moving experience to participate in Anzac Day, the day that commemorates the fight of New Zealand and Australian troops against their enemies during both world wars. Particularly as a German citizen Anzac Day had a huge impact on me.
The pictures that I show here in this blog text and on my Flickr site are part of the brilliant exhibition at Te Papa covering the siege of Gallipoli. The exhibition contains tables, graphs and multimedia documentation that give a very good overview. But first of all it shows larger than life figures that represent soldiers and other people participating in the war.
Black and white converted picture of a figure representing a soldier storming up the hills of Gallipoli. The intensity of the figures is stunning.
These figures have been created by Weta Workshops, a manufacturer of film props and costumes in Wellington. Weta workshops have become renowned for creating all items for the Lord of the Ring saga but also for many other major movies.
Figure of an exhausted and bitter looking military doctor on the fields of Gallipoli.
This link leads to Weta Workshop’s website. You find here all the major projects this studio has been involved in. https://www.wetaworkshop.com/projects/gallery
When I visited the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa I took my camera in order to take some pictures of the figures. I was overwhelmed by the expression of these amazingly crafted and designed figures. Together with the lighting they create an eerie and very touching atmosphere with a great sense of realism that give visitor an impression of the hardship that soldiers and personell had to endure.
Weta Workshops in Wellington have crafted all figures that are shown in this exhibition
I have added two pictures here that show the scale and dimension of these figures in comparison to tiny looking visitors at the exhibition.
Compare the size of the figure with that of the visitor.
The previously shown army doctor figure in comparison to a tiny looking visitor.
If you come to Wellington I highly recommend visiting this excellent and emotional historical exhibition. It will be on display until 2022. The admission is free.