Art at Freshwater Place
Freshwater Place Lobby painting
Jennifer Webb – FWP Lobby Painting
In 2016 Freshwater Place Committee of Management commissioned Jennifer Webb (Artist in residence, Port Art Gallery) to produce a suite of paintings depicting scenes incorporating the Yarra river. The brief was to produce the central panel featuring Freshwater Place tower, complimented by other iconic scenes of the precinct.
The suite adds to the Freshwater Place body of artwork originally commissioned by Australand, the developer of Freshwater Place. It gives the lobby entrance a vibrancy and an immediate connection with its location.
In 2016 Freshwater Place Committee of Management commissioned Jennifer Webb (Artist in residence, Port Art Gallery) to produce a suite of paintings depicting scenes incorporating the Yarra river. The brief was to produce the central panel featuring Freshwater Place tower, complimented by other iconic scenes of the precinct.
The suite adds to the Freshwater Place body of artwork originally commissioned by Australand, the developer of Freshwater Place. It gives the lobby entrance a vibrancy and an immediate connection with its location.
The Travellers by Nadim Karam
The Travellers And The Ten Periods Of Australian Migration:
Each of the ten Travellers figures represents a period of migration to Australia (as defined by historian Dr James Jupp AM).
1. Gayip – The Aboriginal Period (designed with the assistance of Indigenous artist Mandy Nicholson). 2. First Settler – The Convict Period (1788 – 1868). 3. Melbourne Beauty – The Gold Rushes (1850 – 1890). 4. Walker and his tucker bag – Assisted Migration 1830 – 1930). 5. Shelter – Displaced persons (1947 – 1953). 6. Urban Wheel – European Migration (1947 – 1983). 7. Running Couple – Refugees (1856 – 2005). 8. Butterfly Girl – Asian and Middle East migration (1975 – 2005) 9. Technoman – Students and professionals (1975 – 2005). 10. Walking Sun – Australian Multiculturalism.
• The Travellers move on individual bogeys at 1.5 km/h. They will adopt a regular pattern of movement (morning, noon and night) in April. The ‘journey’ out takes 15 minutes.
• More than 3.7 km of stainless steel (in 4455 pieces) was used to create the sculptures.
• The average weight of each figure is 2307 kg while the heaviest figure is 7701kg.
Each of the ten Travellers figures represents a period of migration to Australia (as defined by historian Dr James Jupp AM).
1. Gayip – The Aboriginal Period (designed with the assistance of Indigenous artist Mandy Nicholson). 2. First Settler – The Convict Period (1788 – 1868). 3. Melbourne Beauty – The Gold Rushes (1850 – 1890). 4. Walker and his tucker bag – Assisted Migration 1830 – 1930). 5. Shelter – Displaced persons (1947 – 1953). 6. Urban Wheel – European Migration (1947 – 1983). 7. Running Couple – Refugees (1856 – 2005). 8. Butterfly Girl – Asian and Middle East migration (1975 – 2005) 9. Technoman – Students and professionals (1975 – 2005). 10. Walking Sun – Australian Multiculturalism.
• The Travellers move on individual bogeys at 1.5 km/h. They will adopt a regular pattern of movement (morning, noon and night) in April. The ‘journey’ out takes 15 minutes.
• More than 3.7 km of stainless steel (in 4455 pieces) was used to create the sculptures.
• The average weight of each figure is 2307 kg while the heaviest figure is 7701kg.
Nadim Karam – QBS Lobby Painting - website
Painting by Nadim Karam
Born in Beirut, Nadim Karam is an architect who is also a painter, sculptor and urban artist who works on creating dreams for cities. With Atelier Hapsitus the pluri-disciplanary company he founded in Beirut, he has made large scale urban art projects for cities. He was commissioned to create ‘The Travellers’ by Victoria Sate and the City of Melbourne. This huge permanent urban art installation tells the story of migrants to Australia through ten three-storey high sculptures which move across a bridge and back at set times each day. This creation has become the first moving artwork in the world.
Nadim painted the wall feature of The Travellers whilst residing at Freshwater in 2006 and the painting was available for all to view as it evolved from start to finish, as the impressive art piece was actually painted in the Queensbridge Square Lobby.
When interviewed at the 2007 International Design Forum, he was asked why a well-known architect and artist like him would not want to practice in Europe or other more well-established places. He said he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Beirut because it’s one of the most creatively provocative cities in the world.
Nadim painted the wall feature of The Travellers whilst residing at Freshwater in 2006 and the painting was available for all to view as it evolved from start to finish, as the impressive art piece was actually painted in the Queensbridge Square Lobby.
When interviewed at the 2007 International Design Forum, he was asked why a well-known architect and artist like him would not want to practice in Europe or other more well-established places. He said he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Beirut because it’s one of the most creatively provocative cities in the world.
Bronwyn Oliver – QBS Lobby Sculpture ‘Copper with Bronze Base’
Bronwyn Oliver was born in NSW in 1959 and committed suicide in 2006.
Her sculpture suggests a passage from one place to another, a journey from a material dimension into an imaginative, other world.
The ethereal impression and supple curves of her objects belie the inherent qualities of their materials and the intensive process of their production. As a result copper appears lithe, its resiliency creatively subverted. more information
Bronwyn Oliver was born in NSW in 1959 and committed suicide in 2006.
Her sculpture suggests a passage from one place to another, a journey from a material dimension into an imaginative, other world.
The ethereal impression and supple curves of her objects belie the inherent qualities of their materials and the intensive process of their production. As a result copper appears lithe, its resiliency creatively subverted. more information
Greg Johns – FWP Lobby Sculpture ‘Corten Steel’ website
Greg Johns is an Australian sculptor who works primarily in steel. John's work, both large and small; take on figurative, fractal and free forms. His major influences stem from his own experiences throughout his career and moreover by the rural Australian landscape itself. This landscape is mirrored throughout John's work giving it a feeling of roughness, toughness and vulnerability.
Johns likes "the balance between object-making and ideas," and he also believes that form must "co-exist with mythology and symbolism." He creates archetypal forms whose compositions may well reference modernity, but they also go back to a time when sculpture had ritual importance. This combination of intentions makes for an unusually meaningful body of work.
George Raftopoulos – Level 10 Function Room
George Raftopoulos was born in Sydney in 1972, the son of Greek parents. His childhood, from the age of five, was spent in the New South Wales town of Grenfell. In the 1970s, the Raftopouloses found themselves to be the only Greek family in the town. In this context, as a youth, George became aware of cultural identity.
George Raftopoulos speaks of his painting as "mapping the memory". He refers to his paintings incorporating fragmentary references to places he has been, events he has witnessed, and sensations he has experienced. He refers to his paintings touching aspects of his race memory, aspects of his cultural lineage. He has had two extended stays in Greece, seeking to absorb his family's cultural foundations in Corfu.
As is our painting many of Raftopoulos's paintings are inscribed with a single word, printed in the Greek alphabet.
George Raftopoulos was born in Sydney in 1972, the son of Greek parents. His childhood, from the age of five, was spent in the New South Wales town of Grenfell. In the 1970s, the Raftopouloses found themselves to be the only Greek family in the town. In this context, as a youth, George became aware of cultural identity.
George Raftopoulos speaks of his painting as "mapping the memory". He refers to his paintings incorporating fragmentary references to places he has been, events he has witnessed, and sensations he has experienced. He refers to his paintings touching aspects of his race memory, aspects of his cultural lineage. He has had two extended stays in Greece, seeking to absorb his family's cultural foundations in Corfu.
As is our painting many of Raftopoulos's paintings are inscribed with a single word, printed in the Greek alphabet.