PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION
Runaway Garden
I received a grant from Moreland Council in Melbourne as part of the 2013 MoreArt program which features the work of local artists along the Upfield bikepath. The aim of the project was to add colour and life to an otherwise disused lot of VicTrack land along the Upfield train line. I created a three-dimensional pasteup representing a flow of ink and flowers that ran around the fence and the concrete structure in the abandoned lot, seemingly flowing into and out of the ground. I employed the help of 3 other people for the build, including invaluable technical direction from Morgan Evans. The team-work, the chance to work with an abandoned space, and the complexity of the problem-solving made this one of the most rewarding projects I've ever completed.
Artwork
Fluid colour
The flower images were created by hand, using crimson and black ink. I made many different kinds of shapes, some rough and basic, some more detailed - I didn't want the final art to feel too "finished" or precise, as the feel of the work was to be that of a loose, organic and to some extent unrestrained burst of life and energy.
Artwork
Hand painted
The ink flowers were scanned in, colour adjusted and printed large-scale on high quality paper, then cut to shape. The black linework connecting the flowers was painted by hand onto the plywood. The paper flowers were then pasted onto the plywood structure.
Planning
Digital model
The site was carefully measured and these measurements then used to create wireframes in Illustrator and Photoshop. Based on the wires, the artwork was created to scale in the computer, matching the physical dimensions of the site. This allowed the final structure, including the cut plywood and the artwork, to directly reflect the original design.
Build
3D pasteup
The installation consisted of hand painted and pasted artwork on plywood sheets cut to shape and fixed to the fence and concrete ruins. For the build, I directed a team of 3 people, who helped with the plywood cutting, painting, and physical construction. I also received invaluable technical direction from Morgan Evans who helped bring my ideas to fruition.
