Muegano was envisioned by Zamora following a visit to Christchurch in 2009 where he reflected on the architecture of houses in the Christchurch suburbs. Zamora noted ‘Many of (the houses) have the classic Western shape of the house that everybody knows and (children) draw; roof with two inclinations, four walls, windows and door at the front.’ He saw a reflection of this ‘classic Western shape’ in the pre-fabricated greenhouse frames that are readily available in hardware stores, and specified them as the major structural components in Muegano.

The artwork was conceived by Zamora for the sixth SCAPE Public Art Christchurch Biennial in 2010, however its installation was halted in the early stages of construction by the Christchurch earthquakes. Following the earthquakes, the original location in Victoria Square became inaccessible and the artist, having survived the 1986 Mexico City earthquake, was sensitive to how Christchurch people might feel about the artwork and its tumbled appearance. The passage of time, and a new location in the lake next to the Information Centre and children’s playground in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, allowed both the artist and SCAPE Public Art to be satisfied that the artwork was situated in a fitting space and that its message would be received as intended by the artist – as a comment on construction and urbanism in local culture.

The large-scale installation, Muegano, was erected in 2012 but was damaged irrevocably in the September 2013 storm. It was uninstalled in September and October 2013.

Commissioned by: SCAPE Public Art Christchurch Biennial

Sponsored by: Naylor Love, BECA, New Zealand Steel, Anderson Lloyd Lawyers, John Jones Steel, Warren and Mahoney, Christchurch City Council, Heritage Management Services, United Scaffolding Group

Supported by: Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Dame Jenny Gibbs