Deakin University Sculpture Walk (Waurn Ponds Campus)
The audio tour for the Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus Sculpture Walk can be downloaded or use the guide below.
Deakin University (Waurn Ponds Campus) Sculpture Walk Map
1 David Evison, Palisade IV 1977
David Evison's Palisade is a simple enclosure, a symbol rather than a practical structure. Four verticals in sheets of steel capped by a small triangular segment protectively define an internal space. Despite the weight of the steel, there is a sense of lightness to the sculpture; it appears to merely touch the ground rather than being set into a concrete base.
The work links with the artist's training at St Martin's School of Art in London where he met sculptors such as Anthony Caro and William Tucker. A new approach was in the air: sculpture was on the floor, on the ground, not on a pedestal, and industrial materials were in vogue. Evison's interest in welded mild steel was further enhanced by a visit to the studio of David Smith (USA) in 1975 where he was greatly impressed by the works of this noteworthy sculptor.
2 Deborah Halpern, Magic Carpet 2008
Some of Deborah Halpern's titles are predictable and conventional, such as Twins or Three Sisters, but others are intriguing flights of fancy, like Cat With Spiral Hair, Cat With Elegant Eyes or Moon God. The title Magic Carpet may seem inexplicable until one walks around the work and realizes that the sculpture sags like a soft mattress - alias a Magic Carpet.
Remarkably few sculptors can be described as whimsical or mischievous, but Deborah Halpern has displayed these endearing characteristics since her early days as a potter. Both her parents were potters producing distinctive functional items, but the daughter rebelled and instead made fanciful objects such as a Two Spouted Teapot, 1989, which purported to pour two cups of tea simultaneously.
3 Inge King, Shinjuku 1975
During a visit with her husband to Japan in 1974, Inge King was intrigued and impressed by some large-scale air conditioning ducts she saw at Shinjuku Plaza in Tokyo. This simple industrial installation directly influenced Shinjuku - a vertical sculpture with projecting cylinders - that makes no attempt to hide its industrial connection. It is an unusual composition as the focus of attention is directed low down to the unexpected protuberances emerging at strange angles. If the work were to be displayed upside down, the composition would lose its impact and become entirely predictable.
The Japanese aesthetic was to have a marked impact on Inge King and lead to a greater simplicity and elegance in her work. This can be noted in works such as Temple Gate, 1976-77, in the grounds of the National Gallery of Australia, while the simple cylinder also became the basis for numerous later works. Typically, these were all constructed of welded steel, painted black, to emphasize the simple forms and dramatic silhouettes.
4 Garth Hughes, Groper 1988
Groper is certainly a big fish, consisting of 200 scales in sheet metal, each hand-beaten on an anvil. It is also undoubtedly one of the biggest sculptures produced by Garth Hughes who began his sculptural career making small native animals out of wire. A welder by trade, Hughes felt at ease with mild steel and liked the surfaces he obtained with rusted metal. He has also produced a series of small birds such as Oyster Catchers and larger species like dancing Brolgas.
Groper was originally made for the one occasion that the Sydney based Sculpture by the Sea was held at Darwin in 1998. The artist has stated, "I wanted to create something larger than life that would endure the elements and attract the eye of the public." It certainly did; he won the People's Choice Award.
After a journey overland of more than 4,000 km. the work was originally installed beside a pool of water but was later moved to a central position in the large garden courtyard called The Cube, where it can be viewed from both the Student Cafe and the Library. Now placed prominently in the middle of a garden setting, it perhaps needs a new title: A Fish Out of Water?
5 Phil Price, Ratytus 2005
A single blade high on an extraordinarily elegant vertical support moves effortlessly, endlessly. Spectators stop and stare, mesmerized by the fluid movement of Phil Price's kinetic sculpture; they wait to see if there is any sequence, but the blade is so superbly engineered it reacts to the slightest breeze in a non-repeating pattern.
Phil Price was converted to kinetic sculpture when he saw the work of the famous American sculptor George Rickey in a private collection in New Zealand. He subsequently visited Rickey in America, gained a great deal of technical expertise and returned to explore the endless possibilities of sculptures activated by the wind.
Ratytus has a single blade, whereas other works such as his Tree of Life, 2012, in the grounds of McClelland Gallery+Sculpture Park at Langwarrin, are much more complex with up to 20 moving parts. One might ask, what is the meaning of the title Ratytus? To this the artist explained that as he has, in effect, created a new species he also felt obliged to create a new name. But it would seem that he was aware that Ratyte is the Latin name of the category of flightless birds native to both New Zealand and Australia: the Moa in New Zealand and the Cassowary and Emu in Australia.
6 Margel Hinder, Interlock 1979
Though it is fundamentally a simple arrangement of three interlocking circular shapes, Interlock has a very strong presence and commands the open space where it is placed; the visual possibilities of the asymmetrical arrangement seem endlessly fascinating.
Originally fabricated by Keith Jackson in Sydney in 1979 from Hinder's small maquette of 1973, the sculpture was very skilfully restored in 2015 by Ben Fasham, Melbourne, with stainless steel replacing the rusted steel bolts.
When she arrived in Australia at the age of 28, Margel Hinder already had first-hand knowledge of modernist sculptors such as Brancusi, Gabo and Pevsner from her studies in New York. Yet interestingly, her fascination with local timbers led her to produce abstracted forms of birds, animals and numerous depictions of the human figure.
Then by the late 40s, she was designing elegant and totally abstract forms, using a range of materials new to sculpture in Australia, such as Monel metal, delicate fuse wire, copper wire and Perspex. It seems entirely appropriate that her sculpture should now be situated in front of the building housing the Institute for Frontier Materials at Deakin University.
7 Neil Taylor, Reformed Solipsist 2005
If a solipsist believes that the only thing he can actually prove to exist is himself, then perhaps a Reformed Solipsist has abandoned this astonishingly restricted philosophy. The world around us does indeed exist for in fact, hanging from the ceiling and gently moving in the slightest breeze is a delicate work in the form of an annulus, or in more prosaic terms, a very large donut, constructed of very fine wire. It definitely does exist.
As compared with this esoteric philosophy, Neil Taylor has evolved a particular style linked to a very prosaic material - wire. Whereas other sculptors may choose the solidity of wood, stone or bronze to emphasize mass and bulk, Taylor delineates the three dimensional form to define space.
Early in his career, wire was simply a very cheap, easily obtainable material and as he explored its simple malleability he came to realize its wonderful potential. The technique only required skill with a pair of pliers and the ability to solder, to which Taylor added a boundless imagination and endless patience.
His geometric forms are built of the apparently endless repetition of simple motifs, which cumulatively become extremely complex constructions: entirely abstract and essentially cerebral.
8 Marina DeBris, Storm Brewing, 2017
Used coffee cups lids.
9 Robert Ingpen, Harrison Memorial 1976
Original steel refrigeration compressor in original steel flywheel.
10 Tim Jones, Wooden Tree #1 2003
In spite of its relatively complex method of production, Tim Jones' Wooden Tree has all the delightful simplicity of a young child's drawing. Like a drawing on paper, the branches spread out on either side of the trunk, not attempting to be as three dimensional as a real growing tree. And with no thought of scale or the vast distances involved, the crescent moon sits contentedly on a top branch.
Tim Jones has used the symbol of the tree again and again in his sculpture and also in prints of his black and white wood engravings. Sometimes they're part of a dense and mysterious forest, other times a single tree struggles to survive the harsh winds of winter, and often there is the whimsical inclusion of a small bird or the crescent of the moon.
Achieving such a sense of apparent simplicity requires a knowledge of many processes. The Wooden Tree began as a simple silhouette in plywood to which the sculptor glued innumerable small segments of wood, slowly building up the forms. Then began the complicated process of lost wax casting in bronze, giving permanence to the structure while retaining the distinctive texture of the original wooden construction.
The subtle use of a patina on the bronze has added small touches of colour suggesting that the leaf buds are bursting into life.
11 G W Bot, Glyphs - Tree of Life 2008
G W Bot is the exhibiting name of Chrissie Grishin who was born in Guetta, Pakistan of Australian parents. After returning to Australia in 1956 Bot studied in London, Paris and Australia and has been working as an artist since 1985. She lives and works in Canberra where she is neighbour to many wombats, an animal she has adopted as her totem. The source of her professional working name comes from an eighteenth century French reference to the wombat as le grande Wam Bot - hence GW Bot.
Bot has a significant reputation as a printmaker and her work is included in numerous collections across the world. The work of GW Bot sees an individual's path through personal and public environments as an allegory for a passage through life. Her glyphs are signs and symbols of natural elements that communicate her connectedness with the Australian landscape, forming a unique language. Her glyphs are evocative of both trees and branches but also through association form abstract shapes or cosmological markings, mapping out the progression of the seasons, time and natural events.
12 Rhonda Hodge, Alfred Deakin 2018
Concrete with Monochrome Black ink sealed with Crommelin concrete gloss sealer.
13 Robert (Bob) Jenyns, Meanwhile...Down South in Tasmania 2005
Robert "Bob" Jenyns (1944 - 2015) was a celebrated Australian artist whose career spanned over 40 years, marked by a prolific output in sculpture, printmaking, drawing, and painting. His work is recognized for its figuration, use of a naive or outsider aesthetic, its humour, and the portrayal of everyday life. Jenyns' contributions to the Australian art scene was significant, with participation in major events like the first Biennale of Sydney and the Mildura Sculpture Triennials.
He received acclaim for his work "Pont de l'archeveche," which was based on a caravan that the artist Alber Tucker created in a hotel room in Paris in the 1950's. The work earned him the 2007 Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award.
Similar to "Pont de l'archeveche," , Meanwhile ...down south in Tasmania (2005) is an giant Meccano truck, loaded with tree logs, continuing on with his fascination with Meccano - a toy that uses metal parts to construct working models and mechanical devices. Jenyn?s art is featured in prestigious collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Beyond his artistic practice, Jenyns was also a respected educator, teaching at the Tasmanian School of Art.
14 Phil Price, New Angel 2021
Carbon fibre, epoxy, stainless steel, precision bearings and urethane coating.
15 Darren Matthews, Geoff Dutton, John Holak and Russell Bone, The Blue Oval 2016
Made at the Ford casting foundry using wood patterns donated by the Ford Motor Company, 2016. Donation form signed by David Potter (Human Resources Manager) on behalf of the Ford Motor Company.
16 Darren Matthews, Time on Our Hands 2018
Industrial assemblage of hand made wooden and resin patterns from Ford Motor Co. Iron Foundry in Geelong.
17 Hannah Quinlivan, Something Missing 2013
Galvanised steel and PVC wire.
18 Joanne Croke, The Birds II, 1994
Bronze
19 Naomi Kumar, Untitled, 2002
Mixed media.
20 Karen Ward, Keepsake, 2004
Mixed media - fabric flowers, black paint, compedium box.
21 Shaun Wilson, The Secret World, 2002
Mixed media - synthetic graa, digital print, plastic, dirt, glue, medallion box.
22 Gabrielle Martin, Untitled, 2002
Compendium box, oil on board.
23 Honor Freeman, Days Measured, 2008
Slip cast porcelain, various sizes
24 Rona Panangka Rubuntja, Finke River Date Harvest, 2011
Handbuilt terracotta and underglaze.
25 Geoffrey Bartlett, Silver Cloud, 1995
River red gum and galvanised steel
26 Anthony Pryor, Marathon Man, 1990
Bronze
Location
75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds 3216 Map
Web Links
→ Deakin University (Waurn Ponds Campus) Sculpture Walk Guide (Interactive Map)
