Maribyrnong City Council currently has an annual allocation to commission permanent public art as part of its Capital Works and Improvement Program Budget. The commissioning of public art is guided by "On the Edge” Maribyrnong Public Art Strategy. The site chosen for the 2013/14 public art commission is the suburb of Braybrook – specifically the redeveloped Braybrook Community Centre where two permanent public works will be commissioned. The newly developed Braybrook Community Hub is one of a number of projects that Maribyrnong City Council is undertaking as part of its “Revitalising Braybrook” initiative.

An artist selection panel reviewed the works of twenty artists, all of whom were submitted through an Expression Of Interest (EOI), and seven were shortlisted. This blog documents the process by which each artist/artist team will work with artist/curator Kendal Henry to develop final proposals which will then be presented to a public art panel, Council and the general public. Only two proposals will eventually be awarded commissions.

4.20.2014

Council awarded $40,000 to Archinauts

The artwork “Pollyanna's Egg” reflects the emergence of a more cohesive and optimistic community. By acknowledging the past, present and future stories of Braybrook the work is representational of a cross-section of people and places telling a story across time. The story is uniquely Braybrook, unlike any other. We take as our starting point the true story of a 12-year-old Braybrook resident Trena Telford and her pet goose, Pollyanna, as it appears in the Argus, August 1956. This story has been developed into a children's book, “Pollyanna’s Egg” written and illustrated by the artist. The story which celebrates themes of friendship and children's agency to effect positive outcomes is commemorated with a timber sculpture in the form of a large egg to se sited at the new Braybrook community library. 

The large goose egg is carved from recycled timber and raised on a form concrete plinth. A “nest” of long grassy plants with delicate feathery tips obscures the plinth. The egg contains a hollow center, which will contain a weatherproof time capsule. The time capsule will be opened at an unspecified time in the future. The inclusion of the time capsule brings the egg to life there's a sense that one day in the future it will hatch, bring to the light things that were valuable too community in 2014.

Council awarded $105,000 to TRUC

People is made of two monumental abstracted figures standing side by side. Mounted on rotational bearings each figure will pivot on its central line allowing the forms to embrace or turn away from each other in a constant dance of human dynamics.
Fitted with cameras and screens each figure will act as a periscope. This will permit the community to see a 360 ̊ panorama of their neighbourhood through the eyes of these 6 metre tall guardians. The cameras will also transmit their view wirelessly so that their vision can be enjoyed by anyone on their mobile device or personal computer.

2.09.2014

Archinauts


The artwork “Pollyanna's Egg” reflects the emergence of a more cohesive and optimistic community. By acknowledging the past, present and future stories of Braybrook the work is representational of a cross-section of people and places telling a story across time. The story is uniquely Braybrook, unlike any other. We take as our starting point the true story of a 12-year-old Braybrook resident Trena Telford and her pet goose, Pollyanna, as it appears in the Argus, August 1956. This story has been developed into a children's book, “Pollyanna’s Egg” written and illustrated by the artist. The story which celebrates themes of friendship and children's agency to effect positive outcomes is commemorated with a timber sculpture in the form of a large egg to se sited at the new Braybrook community library.

The large goose egg is carved from recycled timber and raised on a form concrete plinth. A “nest” of long grassy plants with delicate feathery tips obscures the plinth. The egg contains a hollow center, which will contain a weatherproof time capsule. The time capsule will be opened at an unspecified time in the future. The inclusion of the time capsule brings the egg to life there's a sense that one day in the future it will hatch, bring to the light things that were valuable too community in 2014.











2.05.2014

a glimpse of the proposals

Yesterday the artists presented their proposals for the two Braybrook Community Hub public art projects. ALL the proposals were thoughtful, engaging and well put together. Below, in no particular order, is a glimpse of the concepts as they each had layers and layers that would be revealed over time and as the community interacts with them. So much hard work, so many great ideas it's a pity only two will be selected.  The winning designs will be announced sometime in March.

the panel in deep discussion as they consider all the proposals

Mark Cuthbertson project 1 & 2

The works will consist of a series of soft form cast concrete sculptures. The soft form casting technique involves pouring wet concrete into a supported flexible fabric formwork and allowing it to cure.  This process produces an amazing softness and fluidness of line to the formed concrete. The works will vary in scale from 1.5 m to 3 m in height depending on the individual design. There will be up to five works produced and installed as part of the full installation. The work should be installed on-site one or two though there is no preference between the sites. We would encourage the community to voice which site they would like to work installed on. During the workshops, students and the local community will work with Mark to create drawings, paintings, small-scale models and pottery work exploring ideas of what they would like to see at the community centre. It will be an opportunity for Mark to work with the local community to create images, ideas, thoughts and see the world through the eyes of the people of Braybrook. Workshops will be run in a fun and open environment, encouraging positive behavior from students and the community through artistic expression. People will be encouraged to be as hands on as to like, creating art, explore new ideas and techniques and influencing the public art sculpture in the community















Damien Butler


The curatorial approach is focused on the sculpture to alter the experience of the landscape and site.  Even the smallest object adds definition and character to space. Our own projections onto them structure a system of imagined and real activities, creating interiorised space. Every object holds the potential for an action or an event, that is, people find within them behaviors and states. Thus the object must not be limited to its physical form, but recognized for its atmospheric and temporal qualities. Damien Butler's “Your Color PlayHouse” carries an evocative reminder of the power of these small intrusions to shape how people spend time. The objects of this installation themselves are virtually insignificant in that they are only facilitators, though they built around them a shift in occupation, behavior, and spatial quality, through the intangibles of vision and light. These bring out the aesthetic significance of objects as shapers of movement and inhabitation, over time and through space. Spaces themselves are not defined only by comprehensive and definite structures - the controlled gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Quiet introductions of objects and the imaginative potential that they hold also redefined spatial experience in a much quieter way; they disrupt existing orders, and in doing so re-create them.

An object carries with it a field of influence. What objects are not defined by the parameters of architecture, when they are strategically dispense, they hold the potential to blur the limits of place and program, providing minor accents and experimental landscapes. This is the kind of architecture not based on construction limits, but a form of disappearing act as features dissipate into the streets. However, through their introduction, they re-orient existing domains and our interaction with them.









The Niche Art Project 1

Our aim is to create an awareness of environment by engaging the viewer and revealing shapes and patterns drawn from nature. The smooth seedpods invoke the sensation of growth and potential. A grouping of seed forms in highly polished granite sculpted in the round scattered and tilted to accentuate movement. This distinctive artwork that is site-specific and contemporary will invigorate the public space and promote a sensory engagement within the space. Flowing designs of words and stories, A River of Words - Seed of Thoughts will be etched into the granite seedpods. The artworks will be durable, interactive and meaningfully utilizing vibrant and dynamic designs. Our intention is to communicate the richness and depth of stories that connect people to public places. The River of Words - seeds of Thoughts will come from community consultation. The words will tell a story that connects with the new community hub. A continuous design of etched words flowing across the top surface of the seed forms. We believe significant public art builds on collaboration and consultation to create artworks that have an ongoing dialogue and engagement with the community.