Public Space Works – Behind the Scenes | Gavin Malone Visual Artist & Cultural Geographer

Public Space Works – Behind the Scenes

No two public space projects are the same, designing for place requires varying conceptual and material approaches. It’s great to have ideas but they have to be made into a physical reality. This brings about many different experiences in developing works. Here’s a few:

Tjirbruki Narna arra’ Tjirbruki Gateway Warriparinga 1996-97
No tree trunks were felled for the project, the trunks were salvaged from ones already on the ground. The Stringybark trunks were obtained from the Second Valley Forests in southern Kaurna Country, they were self-sown on the edge of the pine plantations and had been felled during harvesting operations. Other trunks were salvaged from the construction of the first stage of the Southern Expressway, nearby to Warriparinga

The iron pyrites that represents Tjirbruki’s body is from Brukunga, the place of hidden fire, the hill that is Tjirbruki’s body. The pyrites was mined from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Collecting tree trunks, Second Valley Forest, Tjirbruki Narna arra’, Nov. 1996

Source of stone, Brukunga Pyrites Mine, Tjirbruki Narna arra’ 1997

Preparing trunks, Tjirbruki Narna arra’, Billy, Gavin, Sherry, March, 1997

Installing tree trunks, Tjirbruki Narna arra’, March, 1997

Children’s footprint patterns, Tjirbruki Narna arra’, May, 1997

Warriparinga Weir Sturt River – Warri Parri
The new artificial wetlands required a diversion weir to direct water flows from the river. Rather than a concrete weir and rock gabion retaining walls, a more site sensitive solution was devised utilising a Karra – River Redgum tree trunk as the weir and ‘poured earth’, cement stabilised local earth and river stones, for the river bank reinstatement. A suitable Karra – Redgum had to be found to meet engineering specifications and environmental considerations. A tree on the banks of the upper reaches of Karrawirraparri Redgum forest river – River Torrens near Castambul that had fallen in a storm was located and obtained.

Karra – River Redgum trunk on the river bank