ABOVE : THE STRUCTURE IS TO BE CREATED ON THE RIVERSIDE SIDE OF THE TE MATAU A POHE BASCULE BRIDGE
LEFT : DARELLE ALLAN FROM LOWES AND PARTNERS
When someone talks about seeing through another person ’ s eyes , generally we don ’ t take that in a literal sense . But for one Whangarei business owner , the construction of a ‘ camera obscura ’ on the Hatea Loop is an educational minefield . Darelle Allan from Lowes and Partners Optometrists on Bank Street says the much-anticipated structure will give visitors a brief insight into the human eye .
“ A camera obscura works on the principles of light streaming streaming through a tiny hole into a dark chamber , projecting an image on the rear wall ,” she says .
“ When you compare the tiny hole to the pupil , and the rear wall to the retina- you have a very basic model of the human eye .” The image projected , gets turned upside down and transposed onto the inside
wall .
“ This just demonstrates how clever our brains are ,” continues the Whangarei mum-of-two . “ As infants , we see the image exactly how it is projected on our retinasbut as we get older our brains put it round the right way for us- proving that we shouldn ’ t always believe what we think we see .”
The eight-metre high weathering steel sculpture is due to be constructed by the end of the year . Located on the Riverside side of the Hatea River , the elaborate sculpture will overlook Whangarei ’ s award-winning Te Matau a Pohe Bascule Bridge . Visitors will walk up a ramp into the sculpture , which Darelle compares to stepping inside the human
eye .
“ Once inside , you can change the lenses to make the image sharper . Playing around , but at the same time demonstrating what different lenses can do to help someone with a vision
impairment .”
Photographer and project manager Diane Stoppard
ABOVE: THE STRUCTURE IS TO BE CREATED ON THE RIVERSIDE SIDE OF THE TE MATAU A POHE BASCULE BRIDGE
LEFT: DARELLE ALLAN FROM LOWES AND PARTNERS