Auckland Museum — Moana: My Ocean (2013)
Life-sized shark and marine animal sculptures fabricated for Auckland Museum's Moana — My Ocean exhibition, raising awareness of New Zealand's endemic marine ecosystems.
Auckland Museum's Moana — My Ocean set out to bring the diversity of New Zealand's marine environment into a single immersive gallery. Human Dynamo Workshop made several life-sized sculptural models of sharks and other marine species native to Aotearoa's waters.
The exhibition's purpose was educational — introducing visitors to the delicate endemic ecosystems of these waters and building public support for marine reserves and ocean conservation. The sculpted animals served as both visual centrepieces and accurate references for the species they represented.
Each model was sculpted, moulded and cast in fibreglass, with hand-painted finishes to capture the colour, scale and surface detail of the real animals. The making-of video linked above offers an inside look at the process and the studio's commitment to accuracy.
