| Client brief:
The benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous wanted to commission an extraordinary work of art that will draw attention to and offer an understanding of sustainability. The work was to be sited in the Country town of Bridgetown on Council Property.
Artsource approach:
Artsource facilitated this Open competition commission. Experts were invited to the selection panel, and a lot of attention was attracted from local artists with forums and discussion on public art processes and protocols.
The selection panel: Sustainability Coordinator for Landcorp David Beyer, Local land owner and architect Joe Chindarsi, and well known artist Doug Chambers. Shire Councillor and Board member of the Bunbury Regional Gallery, Chris Cox, was chosen as the Council representation on the panel.
The Local Council was drawn into the project from the start with presentations to full council and visits to the work in construction at the Greenbushes mine.
Artsource recognised the potential to work closely with Shire Officers and elected Members to offer experience in the commissioning and artist selection processes. We looked for ways to engage the community and offer a better understanding of the processes involved in commissioning public art, ways to enrich the arts community and lives of the people that live there. It is hoped that ‘From Life to Life’ will be a catalyst for more public artworks and art trails for Bridgetown and the Shire of Greenbushes – Bridgetown
About the work:
The meaning of the work is generated in a symbolic and physical sense. From Life To Life is literally connected to the ground, and echoes the language of plumbing as an essential service. A sense of the flow of water is present, reinforced by the water droplet shape which is visible in one view of the sculpture. The work thus becomes a connected entity; a spatial extension of the underground connected to the urban waterways that unify the whole built world.
“It is this sense of connection that I seek to instil in the viewer, as each of our lives is as a drop of water, and we do not know when we arrive or depart. The sense of the flow of water visible in the work is representative of the life cycles of all living things. Our existence is facilitated by the Earth, and all things will return to it, (as does the pipe form of my sculpture) we must consider our treatment of it and recognize that we have to take further steps to create a sustainable future.
From Life To Life is generating both in form and meaning a simple truth that will become a new paradigm for existence.” Fredrick White 2007
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