Bloom
HPA Mirvac Public Art Project, fabricated collaboratively with Urban Art Projects.
South Bank, Queensland, 2004.
A freestanding sculpture with a metal framework carry bag and nine cast-metal bougainvillea blooms.
Cast aluminium sculpture surfaced with two-pack polyurethane. Dimensions: Height 2200mm, width 1200mm, depth 600mm
The free-standing sculpture Bloom was created as a response to the nearby Energex Arbour, a kilometre long arbour designed by architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall. Sited in a shopping and eating precinct, the multiple bougainvillea blooms are presented within the framework of a boutique carry bag. The container form is created with tubular metal, thus giving the impression that the sculpture is in fact a large-scale drawing or sketch made three-dimensionally.
Completed project: detail
Site photography by Rod Buchholz and Mandy Ridley.
‘Through the decorative we are delighted, sinuous line, glowing colours – pleasure expressed in material form.’ – Mandy Ridley
Dynamic colour, combined with fabulous forms; the individually-cast forms astound with the flourishes and flounces of a real bloom. Detailing reveals the intricacies of plant structure. The cast blooms are finished in the vibrant palette of the bougainvilleas – cerises, purples through to rusty oranges.
Media & documentation
Process: concept development & fabrication
Process images photography Sue Kohler and Mandy Ridley.