Green Square will receive two new public art pieces: a light tower that shows real-time environmental data in abstract watercolours and a repurposed vintage plane that encourages people to reflect on migration.
High Water by Michael Thomas Hill from Lightwell and Cloud Nation by Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro were chosen from more than 90 international and local entries by a panel, including Green Square Library and Plaza cultural adviser, Jess Scully, and members of the City of Sydney’s Public Art Advisory Panel.
High Water will be installed in the public plaza outside the library. The Green Square Plaza and Library are both designed by Stewart Hollenstein and Stewart Architecture. The artwork comprises high-resolution LED screens that will graphically display local weather patterns and tidal information using live data feeds and integrated sensors.
Blue tones at the base of the tower will rise and fall with the hourly tidal patterns, while the sky representation above will change in colour and pattern in response to the sun’s position, temperature and wind directions.
A complementary interface will allow visitors to understand the data, colours and patterns in real-time and see visual summaries of local environmental conditions over the day, week and year.
“High Water combines traditional artistic techniques like watercolour with contemporary technology, and brings nature to the plaza using local site information,” Scully said.
Concept for Cloud Nation by Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro. Artist impression (not to scale) by Konrad Hartmann and Event Engineering courtesy of the artists and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery. Base image by Luxigon courtesy of Stewart Hollenstein and Stewart Architecture.
Image: Courtesy of the City of Sydney
Cloud Nation will see a repurposed vintage Beechcraft Travel Air aeroplane suspended inside the library.
The plane’s surface will be turned into a miniature world, with small-scale dioramic elements that reference themes of migration and fantasy, drawing from the fictional island of Laputa from Jonathan Swift’s classic novel Gulliver’s Travels. In the novel, Laputa is a flying island inhabited by people with a love of learning and culture.
Binoculars will be provided in the plaza to allow people to see the plane in close detail and encourage engagement from different angles.
“This creates a playful, enchanting and imaginative exchange between the external and interior spaces. The panel loves the possibilities this magical object presents, and we hope it will spark people’s imagination and encourage storytelling among visitors to the library and plaza,” said Scully.
Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore said the artworks would encourage exploration, creativity and community connection in the new neighbourhood.
“Public art can engage and stimulate, it can provoke thought and action and it can add depth and texture to the urban experience,” Moore said.
The artworks are part of $549 million committed by the City of Sydney for the development of the Green Square town centre over the next 10 years. The development also includes an aquatic centre designed by Andrew Burges Architects with Grimshaw and Taylor Cullity Lethlean, a childcare centre designed by Fox Johnston; a creative hub designed by Peter Stutchbury Architects, infrastructure, streetscaping and more than 15 parks and open spaces. The development is due to open in early 2018.
