The world around us: birds, plants and stars
Village Precinct Project – Biota Street, Inala.
Brisbane City Council Project for Inala, Queensland, 2019.
In collaboration with CREATIVEMOVE
The site and the community have shaped my response to the project.
Starting with natural plant forms found on location I have created an artwork that is informed by the historical framing of the suburb of Inala and the development of distinct areas of housing which occurred over the last 70 years. Homes are found in streets named for Birds, Trees and Constellations (Stars). This convention has established a strong sense of identity with residents.
I have drawn inspiration from traditional cultural practices of many citizens who comprise Inala, a community that welcomes individuals from backgrounds including Vietnamese, Samoan, Indian, Sri Lankan and Somali.
My research has sourced an array of visual languages that express cultural identity through motif and pattern. I have sought to utilise these elements to create a design that integrates diverse forms into a unified and engaging result.
This application of this rationale takes inspiration from the circular forms found in traditional floor designs such as the Buddhist Mandala or created as Rangoli patterning found in India. In both traditions large areas are built up by positioning multiple elements into a circular form that is most usually created on the ground or on a floor.
In order to create a sense of energy the margins of the central form are not shown with a fixed boundary. It could be seen that diverse individual elements are drawn into the larger mass to create an ordered and beautiful new grouping. The design dissolving and breaking away suggests movement, both along the length of the site and in more metaphorical terms to suggest the fluidity and ability to maintain cohesion of the community over time.
Completed project: Site perspectives and detail
Photography by Mandy Ridley and David Sanderson.
Our Place Bunting
In conjunction with the Biota Street Village Precinct Project, Inala Art Gallery participants worked with Mandy Ridley to create designs based upon their observation of the local environment around the Inala Art Gallery. These were further developed to create striking repeat patterns which were combined to create bunting to decorate the streetscape for the opening event of the Biota Street Village Precinct Project.
The variety of designs produced reflect the diversity and energy of the Inala community.
Biota Street Village Precinct Project launch festivities
Photography by Mandy Ridley, Melanie-Rose and Peter Ridley.