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PRIMORDIAL, Kemp Place Park

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Artwork Title: Primordial

Year: 2009

Medium: Hand sculpted cement fondue over steel frame

Dimensions: Various approx 200 0mm x 800 x 400mm

Description/Project Name/Conceptual Statement:

SITE UN-SEEN, KEMP PLACE PARK, FORTITUDE VALLEY, Brisbane City Council and Verge Landscape Architects.

The inspiration for Primordial came from visualising the site as a lush island or oasis within a hard urban environment and research that indicated that Kemp Place was once a swampy area, known as “Rosetta Swamp”. This generated the development of sculptural tree-like forms which serve as a memorial to a primordial forest accompanied by “surprise and delight” elements of morphed organism inspired by past and present flora and fauna. The work seeks to address the past ‘unseen’ by referencing the ways different species of plants and animals have journeyed through the site historically, making the site ‘seen’ by transforming the park into an inviting place to journey through, reflect and ponder and imaging future possibilities.

The historic, primordial 'story' that is being suggested here provides an altered perception of what 'is' and what 'was' and maybe what 'could be', but strongly presents the idea of the 'natural' world to the viewer. Primordial delves into different territory by going back to the past, but presents 'nature' in a way that is evocative to the pedestrian user of the park and at the same time establishes an altered perception of the site that transcends this particular point in time.