An iconic city timeline, Auckland-based artist Anton Parsons’ Passing Time features twisting boxes depicting each year between 1906 (the foundation year of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, CPIT) and 2010 (the date of the sculpture’s production). One of New Zealand’s leading sculptors, Parsons graduated from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1990. With his work held in public and private collections throughout New Zealand, Parsons’ practice has embraced a wide range of media and modes: industrial materials, readymade objects, photography and installation. Engaging physical space in profound, often unsettling ways through apparently simple means, his public work includes Invisible City in Lambton Quay, Wellington (2003); The Longest Day, located in the Q&V Building, Queen Street, Auckland (2004), and Numbers for the Palmerston North Public Sculpture Trust.

Commissioned by the Christchurch City Council Public Art Advisory Group. Produced by SCAPE Public Art.