Giant Gollum installed at airport ahead of Hobbit film

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Giant Gollum installed at airport ahead of Hobbit film

The 13-metre sculpture of  Gollum looms over passengers at Wellington Airport.

The 13-metre sculpture of Gollum looms over passengers at Wellington Airport.

A 12 metre-long sculpture carved using robotics and chainsaws has been installed at Wellington Airport ahead of The Hobbit premiere.

The sculpture, created by Weta Workshop, was installed overnight and unveiled this morning ahead of next month's premiere of The Hobbit.

Three 4-metre-long fish is suspended in front of the Gollum sculpture complete with bubbles as he dunks his head underwater to catch a fish with his hand.

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Weta Workshop's Sir Richard Taylor said Gollum was the obvious choice as the airport had previously featured a sculpture of the character for The Lord of the Rings movie.

"Wellington Airport feels like the home of Gollum after spending so many months here during the last three films."

Crews spent four months creating the installation, which is predominantly made out of polystyrene, using Weta Workshop-designed robotic technology as well as chainsaws to carve the pieces.

The work showcased the skill of the Weta Workshop staff, from fine artists, to building and design.

Japanese fine art sculptor Masayuki Ohashi took the workshop's design and made it into a reality, using chainsaws to carve out the fish and Gollum pieces.

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"It was a very exciting project to work on," he said.

A miniature was created at the workshop to ensure the pieces would fit through the doors of Wellington airport, Sir Richard said.

The installation would help introduce Wellington's film industry to the world, he said.

"The film industry in New Zealand continues to be incredibly dynamic, ever moving, ever changing.

"We spend months out in the world championing what our industry can offer and this is a flagship of that to the world."

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