FOOTSCRAY ON THE EDGE: PUBLIC ART

Interview with Julie Stevens on "Carnival" with Chantal Wynter

Julie Stevens
Carnival

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‘Carnival’ is one in a series of concepts which are inspired by and celebrate the busy, built landscape of Footscray, in combination with its history as a growing city.

The carnival series has grown from observation of the sea of vertical poles and wires, caused by a haphazard development of infrastructure over time, that is typical of inner Melbourne eg. electricity, lighting, decorative, out of use antique street structures, traffic lights etc.

This installation explores urban myth in relation to shoes which hang from overhead wires, while aiming to celebrate the ‘colourful’ characters you find in the inner Footscray shopping district.

Painting the sneakers creates a celebratory garland reminiscent of the strings of flags used in carnivals….this element is inspired by footage of a 1950’s carnival held in Nicholson Street Mall, found during my project research.

Description of work

Title : Carnival

Medium : Sculptural assemblage

Materials: discarded used sneakers, acrylic paint, twisted rope wire

Date : 2012

Dimensions : Throughout section of Nicholson St between Paisley & Irving St’s

Artist Statement

Julie Stevens is a Melbourne artist working with found objects, assemblage and surface treatment. Her long history in the medium of mosaics (a professional mosaicist for over 11 years) informs her work and extends to an overall fascination with surface in her broader contemporary arts practice.

Her works reveal a distinct pop sensibility, as she constructs and treats objects while manipulating their social context through assemblage. The resulting works imply subtexts such as violence, grief and social responsibility.

In 2010 she was contracted by the Victorian Multicultural Commission to create three large sculptures for the VIVA Festival (Cultural Diversity Week) at Federation Square. More recently, she has been engaged by the Shire Of Melton to create a Public Artwork for a new Community Centre in Burnside Heights.

She has exhibited in the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery Sculpture Exhibition 2011, Roslyn Smorgan Gallery, Linden Gallery, Hawthorn Town Hall Gallery, Gasworks Albert Park and Trocadero Artspace Footscray. She has twice been a finalist in the Smorgan Steel Contemporary Art Prize in Williamstown.

Contact Julie Stevens

redgirlmosaics@optusnet.com.au

KENDAL HENRY ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM

Council is in the privileged position of hosting an ‘artist in residence’ by New York based artist and curator, Kendal Henry. Kendal specializes in the field of public art and has initiated projects in the US, Europe, Russia, Asia, Central Asia, and the Caribbean. He has held the post of Manager of Arts Programs at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit for eleven years. He has overseen the commissioning, fabrication and installation of MTA’s permanent art projects, served as a member of the MTA’s in-house design team and produced exhibitions at Grand Central Terminal.

As part of his artist-in-residence, Kendal put a call out to local artists inviting them to collaborate on site-specific and socially engaging public artworks. This collaboration resulted in over a dozen provocative works which are peppered throughout central Footscray.

F5: FOOTSCRAY IN TRANSITION

F5: Footscray in Transition is a five-year arts project capturing the physical and cultural changes of ten sites within the City. These sites are highlighted through artistic responses prompting public reflection of the change.

The imminent changes of Foorscray cannot be overestimated and the project aims to play a vital part in recording and responding to these as they occur.

From its beginning and a photography project, the plan is to include creative writing from year 2 onwards to its culmination in year 5, when a book of images and writing is intended to be published.

The sites are:
Irving Street
McNabb Avenue
Binks Ford, Hopkins Street
Footscray Station
Nicholson Street Bridge
Donut Van at Footscray Station
Little Saigon
Nicholson Street Mall
Footscray Hotel, Hopkins Street
A Skyline – photographer’s Choice

Year 2 of F5: Footscray in Transition will comprise of large scale photographs attached to shop windows on the north side of Paisley Street including creative writing sourced from VU staff and students.

F5: Footscray in Transition is a high profile arts project for Footscray over an extended period of time. It has the capacity to be the definitive historic cultural record and response to changes in a city at the most crucial time in its recent history.

MYTHS AND LEGENDS

This is a program run by the science and engineering section of Victoria University. In a desire to bring science and art together, a group of students and postgraduates create artworks that are technically complex. These sculptures and installations are made for VU Open Day and then are recycled for use the following year.

The works are very engaging and use light and movement in a technically advanced manner and often use simple re-cycled materials such as paper. Hence they would ne more suitably exhibited indoors and this exhibition will be in the Bluestone Arts Venue, next to the Town Hall.

WESTERN LIGHTS

Western Lights transform the wall of the Footscray Town Hall. These large scale stills created by local visual artist Nicholas Azidis are visible to everyone who walks or drives by the intersection of Hyde and Napier Streets.

Nicholas Azidis is an installation artist who creates bold and beautiful pieces that transform a viewer’s perception of their surroundings. The familiar becomes magical as he turns buildings into art. Nicholas’ work has recently been seen at the Gertrude Street Projection Festival, onto the Australian Ballet Centre and the Kew Court House.

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