A Nelson artist is sending his own version of strength to the Greymouth
community in the form of a sculpture commemorating the Pike River mining
tragedy.

Metalwork artist Duncan Leask, of Nelson's Refinery Art Space, sent his
sculpture entitled 29 Links to Greymouth Mayor Tony Kokshoorn yesterday.

Mr Leask said the idea of a creating a sculpture had been "floating around
in his mind for a while" after the Pike River Coal mine explosion on
November 19, in which 29 men were killed.

It had taken him a while to find the right materials, and he had almost
given up when he found the perfect chain, he said.

"All the chains had been either too long or too short, and then I saw this
piece just hanging in the tree right in front of me. It was exactly 29
links, so obviously it was meant to be."

He said each link represented a miner, and each had its own character.
"There are two smaller links, so I thought there's the 17 and 18-year-olds,
and then there's one that's really worn and weathered - that's the
62-year-old.

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