Flourish!
Southbank Ernest Street Tunnel Public Art Project, South Brisbane, Queensland, 2013.
The artwork evolves naturally from my art practice; that of immersing people within a celebratory environment that can make an individual’s lived experience visual and tangible.
My conceptual response to the site of the Southbank Tunnels, Flourish! summons the interior in order to evoke qualities of home, security and welcome. This design references fabric which is intrinsic to the history of the site; that of the railway employee uniform. Motifs sourced from decorative trim found on the uniforms provided ample impetus to the project Flourish!
The design is interpreted in two distinctly different colourways across the opposing sides of Ernest Street. Each palette is chosen for particular effect allowing the pedestrian to vary their engagement with the work during their daily traverse of the site. The Northern face is configured with cooler serene blue green colours. The opposing South face presents a more dynamic and lively burst of warm colours. Large arrow-like way finding motifs embellish the ends of each surface. The aesthetic culture of the adjoining retail/residential precinct likewise has impacted on this response, by emphasizing the contemporary trend to blur the distinctions between work and home into a concept of lifestyle.
In both visual and practical terms, the highly fragmented nature of the surfaces of the site required a nuanced response. Individual cut out and patterned forms are combined along the length of the site with the design mirrored on the other side of the road. The work plays with repetition, hybridity and the use of pattern to build up interest and complexity, transforming the pedestrian underpass into a dynamic multi-layered installation.
This project which was undertaken in collaboration with Harbinger Consultants.
Completed project: Site perspectives and detail
Site photography of completed work by Rod Buchholz.
Video
Flourish, a short documentary from 2013 by David Ridley about Mandy Ridley's artistic practice and the process behind the artwork.
Process: Indicative layout
Process: Concept development
Process images and conceptual development photography by Mandy Ridley.