Waitakaruru Arboretum launches its annual “Sculpture in the Park” exhibition this November with two dozen new art works selected by guest curator Rob Garrett. Garrett says he was intrigued and delighted by the high calibre of works on offer, and particularly by art works that reference themes of regeneration, time and sound in very interesting ways.

Carolyn Williams has recreated a flock of yellow hammers by visualising their chirps and tweets. ‘Sound Birds’ (pictured) will form a joyful burst of colour with its sound pattern shapes scattered through a pine grove. Williams has transformed the fleeting and sometimes indecipherable sounds of birds into visual patterns that can be experienced like freeze frame video imagery. Her work slows time, so that we can see what we might listen to without hearing.

Sharonagh Montrose will present a giant kinetic sound piece in the form of a metronome. It will stand as a metaphor for the inexorable creep of time in an environment where changes occur silently, almost imperceptibly, and seasonally. The work’s scale will make it a playful experience for visitors. But the regular rhythm of the work also pays homage to the endurance, patience and vision of those who plant trees to regenerate and transform our world.

Emerging artist Aaron McConchie takes a startling and dramatic approach to the same theme with his interactive super-sized starter’s gun. Is there a race against time here? McConchie invites each visitor to enter the starter’s pistol; and as they walk through they will activate the sculpture’s sound component. If it is a race to make change, McConchie’s work says “why not start here?!”

Where and when: 207 Scotsman Valley Road, Tauwhare, RD4, Hamilton; 21 November 2009–28 February 2010.