Endless stairs, coming from the lake and going to the sky have become one of the favorite places among the locals, tourists, and even birds.

The aluminum sculpture of the New Zealand artist David McCracken “Diminish and Ascend” was presented at the exhibition “Sculpture by the Sea” in Sydney in 2013. Now the construction of the stairs is installed in the Christchurch Botanical Garden.

When the sculpture was presented to the public at Bondi Beach in Sydney for the first time, it was rising over the cliff, creating an impression, at least from some angles, of the endless “stairs to the sky”. The optical illusion was made by steps that slowly narrowed to a small point at the end. In fact, the stairs were not immense, its length was about 10 meters. But it was an impressive sight. The art of McCracken became one of the sculptures, which was people photographed the most at the exhibition of that year.

After installing on Bondi Beach, the “endless stairs” were transported to another exhibition on Waiheke Island in New Zealand. From that place, it was moved to Christchurch Botanical Garden. There, on the water surface of the lake, the sculpture is located today.

Installed on the lake, the stairs became a popular place of the rest of the ducks and gulls. The birds like to come to the steps, bask and eat what the walkers of the garden bring. But not all people like these birds. Every year, the authorities spent about 700 New Zealand dollars on the sculpture cleaning. For some birds, the name “stairs to the sky” got a literal meaning. The poor ones hurt themselves flying to the sharp side of the sculpture.

After the incidents with birds, McCracken suggested to remove the metal tip and replace it with silicone. The new element should be painted in the color of the stairs to make it look like steel. But it is still unknown whether the tip was replaced.

The Botanic Garden is located along Rollston Avenue in the center of Christchurch. Its open hours are from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. every day. The entrance is free.