The story of Judy Watson’s ‘tow row’

The story of Judy Watson’s tow row transcends its physical form and speaks of cultural retrieval and community activation. This stunning work, generously funded by the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation, Cathryn Mittelheuser, AM, and others, is a fitting acknowledgment of the ancestor spirit of Kurilpa. Public art has the power to change the cultural landscape…

Everyday materials transformed into a large-scale sculpture

In Future Remnant, Australian artists Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro transform everyday materials into an extraordinary, large-scale sculpture. In a deliberately absurd juxtaposition, a large dinosaur skeleton, meticulously constructed, climbs over makeshift Ikea storage furniture — the ubiquitous kind that appears in many households and magically reappears on the street whenever the city council collects…

Judy Watson to create public artwork for GOMA entry

This morning, it was my pleasure to be joined at the Galley of Modern Art (GOMA) by Leeanne Enoch, Queensland’s Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business, for the announcement that Queensland artist Judy Watson has been selected to realise a major public artwork at the building’s entrance. The…

Scott Redford celebrates Gold Coast-type signage

Scott Redford’s ‘Proposals’ series of sculptures, such as Proposal for a Surfers Paradise Public Sculpture/GC Cinemas 2006  (illustrated) examine and celebrate the Gold Coast as a remarkable phenomenon in late modern architecture and design in Queensland. What others stigmatise as kitsch, Redford sees as embodying a complex history and identity — perhaps the Gold Coast…

Remembering Captain Hugh Knyvett

Hugh Knyvett Hugh Knyvett was born in South Brisbane, Queensland on 15 September 1886. Shortly before World War One commenced he was a Home Missionary for the Presbyterian Church at Longreach. Enlisting as a private, he was an Intelligence Officer for the RAAF’s No.1 Squadron and the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion. Knyvett trained in Egypt,…

Huang Yong Ping ‘Ressort’: A gigantic snake skeleton

The Gallery commissioned and acquired one of the signature works of The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7), Ressort 2012, a sculpture by the Chinese–French artist Huang Yong Ping. The gigantic aluminium snake skeleton that spirals 53 metres across the Watermall, Ressort 2012 was a fitting centrepiece for APT7. This is not only…