Nigel Scanlon, Waiheke sculptor

Tiki by Nigel Scanlon

A few weeks agos I chatted with local Waiheke artist/carver Nigel Scanlon. I’ve known Nigel for a number of years and have always been in awe of his detailed carvings. Nigel grew up in Whanganui and studied art at Whanganui Polytech, working with other well known New Zealand artists like Shane Cotton, Bob Janke and Fred Graham.

Nigel was recently commissioned to carve a basalt piece titled, “Tiki” for a couple in Church Bay, Waiheke Island. This piece was carved on site and took about a month to complete. The metre plus tall basalt was sourced from from Whangarei, and Nigel has created a piece that glistens with a myriad of colour inherent in the stone. The piece serves as a kaitiaki, a māori minder or guardian, sitting at the front door guarding the home, but it is also an homage to the houses owner who passed away in 2020. You can see the pride on Nigel’s face when he showed me the piece. The tiki stands proudly on the front entrance welcoming, protecting, and with a slightly ominous feeling to it.

It typically takes Nigel approximately a month to complete a work depending on the size. ‘Sometimes a piece can take ages to carve and sometimes it just comes to me rather easily’, says Nigel. At the moment he also is working as a full time landscaper and fitting in his own art practice around working as a landscape artist.

Two years ago, Nigel carved a series of four basalt pieces. These wall hanging masks are intricate, beautiful and delicate, simultaneously invoking strength and power. The mask featured on the Arisphere site is Number Four in this four part series.