B.

In many Pacific Island cultures, lei are placed over the head and shoulders as a gesture of welcome and respect. By surrounding the Gallery's recently filled-in water features with the brightly coloured flowers of synthetic lei, artist Niki Hastings-McFall not only adorns and accentuates them, but also honours what they symbolise to both Tangata whenua and Pakeha. Designed by the Gallery's architects to echo the form of the Avon river as it flows through Christchurch, the pools also honour the artesian spring that gives the Gallery its Maori name: Te Puna o Waiwhetū (the spring in which stars are reflected).