a life 2004 - 07

details

:::: a work resulting from the artist's own intent and initiative
:::: public art commitment for both The Goods Line (click) and Transgrid Substation & Tower Developments
:::: 7.5m (height) x 1.4m x 1.5m
:::: sandstone (Wilton, NSW), steel reinforced concrete under-structure
:::: 25 tonnes (stone only)

notes

:::: enabled through Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) and TransGrid
:::: The Goods Line formerely known as Ultimo Pedestrian Network (UPN)
:::: Original UPN design by Johnson Pilton Walker
:::: engineering & certification by ARUP; civil construction & installation by Ford Civil
:::: stone quarried & donated by the Stratti Family

special acknowledgments:

Troy and Sam Stratti, Peter Nowland (SHFA), Peter Hamilton (Transgrid), Adrian Pilton (Johnson Pilton Walker), Mark Moult (Ford Civil), Mike Cook (ARUP)

artist statement

A 25 tonne stone, quarried as a single block now stands upright in three distinct segments, openly carrying the scars of the work's making.

The base segment is aligned with the grid of the work's physical context, while the upper segments have together been massively twisted out of alignment across a horizontal machined cut. The upper portion is separated from the middle by a natural break and held apart by stone rubble.

The work in the whole reads as an upright figure with head and torso twisted above the hips, found standing next to a rail line in the midst of a highly planned urban setting.

The horizontal notches, incidental to quarrying, may now suggest a time line along the figure's height ... an entire lifetime perhaps.

A monumental shift has taken place across the decisive lower cut.

The grinding twist of the upper two segments - still aligned, away from the alignments of the base conditions is clear to perceive.

If this rational twist may allude to one having questioned the attitudinal givens of a rooted and mediated early life, the angled natural break and respective gap may then begin to suggest a strive towards greater perspective and understanding in time to come.

a life

Stone whispers his story
   to urban imaginings and
      ancient song lines
no sunglasses required
   as he raises his gaze
      to greet the heavens
solid mass of fragrant composition
   elegant spine and
      mighty posture
leaning a little to the right
   in subliminal repose
stars and fallen angels flow
   across his colossal head
he hums a tune – caresses
   the asphalt that kisses his feet
      his soul undiminished
         in a gesture of grand
            knowing

by Kim Carey, writer & friend
written in response to having seen the work in person, November 2007

from quarry bed