When Brisbane City Council’s popular Green Heart Fair takes place on Sunday 26 May, four installations created by QUT visual arts students will be front and centre of the sustainability festival.
Professor Damian Candusso, head of the QUT School of Creative Practice said the students undertook their work through a partnership between Brisbane City Council and Connect and Regenerate, a fusion of arts practice and environmental sustainability created and driven by School of Creative Practice undergraduates.
“The art installations are site-specific works built for and inspired by Victoria Park/Barrambin with its rich history of both colonial and Indigenous land use,” Professor Candusso said.
“The interactive artworks were created as one of the projects within the third-year capstone unit ‘Situated Creative Practice’, which highlights the marvellous ‘real world’ opportunities our students get to experience.
“They have used a range of materials to complement the principles behind the Green Heart Fair, as well as highlight all that the site embodies in terms of its history, environment and culture.”
Each work also encourages public interaction using a combination of performances and instrumental engagement.
The partnership with Brisbane City Council was developed by senior QUT visual arts lecturers and artists Dr Keith Armstrong and Dr Charles Robb.
Curiosity Nests - Kelsey Woods (assisted by Josh Pignolet and Elo Rolandson)
Curiosity Nests is an immersive auditory installation that invites the audience to engage with Barrambin/Victoria Park’s natural environment. Through a fusion of organic and electronic materials, ‘noise makers’ concealed within nesting boxes replace the once organic voices of wildlife with modern technology.
It aims to inspire Green Heart Fair audiences to reflect on sustainable living, with each box donated to be installed permanently within Barrambin or QUT grounds following the Fair.
“After learning about the park’s rich cultural and environmental history, it was really important to me that I used this as a way to create a bridge and communication for voices past, present and future that are not heard,” Kelsey said.
Aqueous Canopy - Ashleigh Reardon (assisted by Cheranne Heyworth)
Aqueous Canopy is an installation work composed of hanging chandelier-styled structures designed to reference the trees that populate the grassland and water within the park. The three-part sculpture installed in a tree explores the concept of regrowth by representing the growth of new branches and providing a decorative and useful element of the work, holding water in it for the wildlife to interact with and benefit from.
Each structure is hung from a different branch of the canopy and the height of the installation invites the audience to view the work from underneath.
“Each element of the installation is designed to represent or draw attention to the beauty of the Barrambin environment surrounding it,” Ashleigh said.
“I was also conscious of making the structure bigger and more durable to be adaptive to Barrambin (Victoria Park) which means ‘windy place’.”
Deep Listening - Marielle Johnston
Deep Listening is an immersive installation that weaves seamlessly through the paperbark tree site reminiscent of a gentle stream of water. The creative response of the layered textures within the paperbark pays homage to the Melaleuca’s regenerative, environmental importance and cultural significance to the indigenous peoples.
The artwork aims to redirect visitors' focus from the external material world into a more tranquil, safe, and sensitive space of deep listening to the natural world and further into the inner springs within each individual.
“My practice usually explores themes of ecology, environmentalism, psychology, spirituality and philosophy. In considering the dimensions and measurements of this work, I was aiming to give a sense of the element of wind,” Marielle said.
Sanctuary - Sophia Summers (assisted by Angelica Dimal)
Sanctuary is a large-scale art installation using approximately 80% recycled green waste. The work expands on the park as a place of imagination and safety, tucked away from the city. The structure is approximately 2 x 1.5 x 1 meters and is accompanied by numerous native flora which will be transplanted into the park after the showing.
“Sanctuary aims to spark creativity and create a place for people to connect and find sanctuary within the parklands. It also aims to raise awareness on proper green waste disposal and the benefits of using native plants,” Sophia said.
During the Green Heart Fair there will be a sculptural workshop for all ages in which participants will create their own small scale cubby house. Volunteers will not only help with this participatory aspect of the work but also educate audiences in the importance of proper disposal of green waste, which the work alludes to.
Green Heart Fair is on from 9am-3pm Sunday 26 May. The artworks will remain in place near the amenities building in the middle of the park until June 9.
For more information, visit https://www.sustainablebrisbane.com.au/whats-on/green-heart-fair/
Main image - Clockwise from top: Kelsey Woods, Sophia Summers, Marielle Johnston and Ashleigh Reardon
Media contact:
Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 3151, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au
After hours: 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au
