Public Art
Authorities charged with delivering major infrastructure projects in Australia and overseas are increasingly becoming conscious of the need to provide various forms of soft relief or “character” to the sometimes hard and cold structural components of their projects.
Various methods of “softening” hard structures through the use of imaginative landscaping and the creation of interesting visual forms and shapes are becoming popular as a way of providing the finishing touches and creating a form of “wow appeal”. The Alliance’s public art strategy was based on exactly this brief.
All the artworks are of a scale that is suitable for viewing by passing motorists. The unique designs and colour schemes on the bridges and the iconic artwork act as wayfinding devices along the road, and increase the safety and visual amenity for all road users.
Integrated artworks on the bridges
Description: Low relief detail in concrete panels and painting of abutment retaining walls on all of the interchange bridges.
The Safety Bay Road Bridge artwork takes its inspiration from the beautiful clear water at Safety Bay and the interesting patterns and shapes formed when looking through the water to the sand below.
The Karnup Road Bridge artwork design is based on the fleeting vision of the landscape and ‘blocks’ of colour as you drive along the road at speed. The red band is a bush in full bloom, the green band a line of shrubs or trees, the yellow band flowering acacias.
The Paganoni Road Bridge artwork is a random composition of a series of shades of the colour red that relate to the ochre pits nearby and celebrate the colour of the earth.
The future Mandurah Entrance Road Bridge artwork is an abstract composition based on the flight of water birds and the spread of their wings and their ‘feather’ patterns.
The Lakes Road Bridge artwork is a repeat pattern based on choppy water created by the wind as it blows across the surface of the lake.
The Murray River Bridge artwork, including its colour palette, is about the nearby Murray River and the reflections
Iconic Artwork - Description: The Water Dance
This iconic artwork comprises 8 cone shapes and 16 poles placed in a composition where the cones and poles lean at various angles. This dynamic composition expresses the energetic movement of rain hitting the earth.
The starting point for the artists was seeing the cone shape as cupped hands reaching up to catch precious rain drops. The poles are abstract representations of water markers found in rivers that are used for recording water levels.
The point of each cone lightly touches the earth like a dancer moving in time with the beat of the rain. The open ‘weave’ of the water ripples on the surface of each cone links earth and sky.
The cones and poles are made of marine grade aluminium. The cones are painted blue internally and the poles are also partly painted. The cones are lit internally at night with a changing sequence of watery tones – from blue to green. This lighting is powered by solar energy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Artist Team Leader: Anne Neil
Artist Team members: Mark Datodi, Steve Tepper, Olga
Cironis, Libby Guj, Michelle Seah
Public Art Program Director: Andra Kins,
Urban Thresholds
Public Art Manager SGA: Gerry Hofmann
Integrated Bridge Artworks:
MSE wall panel fabrication: Giorgiou Group, on behalf of ReCO
Painting of MSE Walls: Kleenit
Iconic Artwork:
Fabrication of cones and poles: Elite Marine
Structural Design: Cardno Buckland
Lighting: Screentech
