Remnants by Mark Datodi and Steve Tepper
Berrington Como, City of South Perth, WA
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Client: Loughton Patterson
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Role of Artsource: Art Consultant
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Artist: Mark Datodi and Steve Tepper
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Outcome: A entry sculpture artwork and fence panels artwork
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Artwork budget: $130,000
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Completion date: September 2017
These abstract artworks take their inspiration from the pine trees located in and around Berrington Como. The trees have aesthetic, historic and cultural heritage significance, being some of the last remnants of the 900-acre Collier Pine Plantation; initially planted around 1925 by the West Australian Forests Department. The plan was to harvest the trees by the 1960s, and then release the land for public purpose.
The artists have worked to create imaginative designs that are relevant to the history of the site, layered in meaning to reinforce a sense of place and discovery. During the design process, the artists, Mark Datodi and Steve Tepper, took photographs of the pine trees on site, including details of their needle-shaped leaves and seed cones. The pine tree leaves and cones were a source of inspiration, particularly the change from cone to seed. From this starting point, the designs were modified and altered to create new and varied compositions that are three-dimensional.
The fence panel artwork communicates the essence of the pine tree leaves, whilst the freestanding entry sculpture gestures at the geometry and the unfolding, growing nature of the seed cones. They hint at their source but go beyond to become abstract and ‘freer’.
Image: Mark Datodi & Steve Tepper, Remnants, 2017. Aluminium and polyurethane paint. Image courtesy the artists.