When I entered the collection, I was unprepared for the scale
On a recent trip to Wellington, I visited Te Papa to view the Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War exhibition. I had heard they were significant in size, but they were monumental. Each figure captured in a moment is 2.4 times the human size!
It’s hard to describe the impact these characters have on you. It’s not the positions of the figures (a few of them are casualties) or the scale – it’s the detail. They look human, so lifelike that it wouldn’t have surprised you if they had moved.
Each sculpture has incredible detail, especially on their hair, skin and uniforms. On the figure of Staff Nurse Lotte Le Gallais – she had tears so real you could feel her sadness. The only part missing was their voices. Te Papa worked with Weta Workshop to create these lifelike figures. This stunning exhibition follows the stories of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I, as seen and spoken by eight New Zealanders at Gallipoli.
The lifelike sculptures took a staggering 24,000 hours to create
Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War combines the world of museums with the world-class creative artistry of the Weta Workshop to immerse you in the eight-month Gallipoli campaign. The giant sculptures took a staggering 24,000 hours to create, and Weta Workshop spent countless hours researching their rich histories.
Employing also used cutting-edge technology to create 3-D maps and projections, miniatures, models, dioramas, and various interactive experiences that bring New Zealand’s Gallipoli story to life.
The scale of our war
2,779 Kiwis, 8,709 Australians, 1,358 Indians, 49 Newfoundlanders, 10,000 French, 21,255 British and Irish, and a staggering 86,692 Ottomans lost their lives on Gallipoli.
I have been to Gallipoli to witness the heroism, humility, and senseless loss of life first-hand. It makes you realise that you are lucky to have been born in a different time!
