Fallen Robot

A giant metal robot is reclining in The Square outside The Dowse, his humungous bronze eyes and teeth radiating from his (soon to be) watery home. Designed by Melbourne-based New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout,  and commissioned by the E Tu Awakairangi Hutt Public Art Trust, Fallen Robot is a public sculpture that lies in a shallow pool beneath an artesian water tap. Fallen Robot is an evolution of Van Hout’s ‘failed robot’ story and a reminder of the industrial history of the Hutt Valley. The sculpture harks back to the pre-industrial age in the Valley, when locals collected water, grew and gathered their food and built by hand.

Visitors will be able to collect artesian water from the tap near the artwork. The water, drawn from the underground aquifer to the surface, will also serve as a drinking water supply in civil defence emergencies.