Weighing in at a healthy 740kg, she measures 110.5 x 501 x 134.5cm from head to (very) big toe! And she's certainly a popular girl – since her acquisition in 2007 she has travelled from Pittsburgh in the USA, to Kanazawa in Japan and to Aberdeen in the north east of Scotland. It was from Aberdeen that she started her journey to Christchurch, via London, Frankfurt, Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The National Galleries agreed to lend A girl to the Ron Mueck exhibition during the summer of 2009. Prior to our agreement, while the conservation department checked that she was in good enough condition to withstand the rigours of transport half way around the world, here in the registrars' department we requested and reviewed information on the environmental and security arrangements at each borrowing venue. All this information helps us determine how the artwork will travel, and what arrangements need to be put in place en route and at the exhibition venues to minimise any risk of damage or loss.

A girl is constructed from a variety of media including fibreglass, polyester resin, silicone and natural hair. Unlike many large sculptures, it cannot be taken apart and moved in sections, and so has its own custom-built crate, designed not only to keep the sculpture safe from the potentially damaging effects of the outside world, but also to provide ease of access for unpacking and installation. Together with colleagues at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, we agreed on the most appropriate transport schedule and route, taking into consideration a bewildering range of factors. These included the overall length of the journey, potential changes in temperature and humidity en route, the number of times the work would have to be moved from one mode of transport to another, the levels of security available throughout, the reliability of the transport and, not least, the exhibition budget.

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