junya ishigami and tracey emin to complete public artworks in sydney

junya ishigami and tracey emin to complete public artworks in sydney
image © junya ishigami

designs for three public artworks have been unveiled by the city of sydney, intended to breathe new life into the central business district’s civic spaces. the project, entitled the ‘city centre public art plan‘, is part of a $220 AUD million contribution to the the local government’s light rail project. the pieces have been chosen from nearly 700 proposed schemes and are designed by a trio of leading designers: japanese architect junya ishigami, british artist tracey emin and egyptian-born sculptural artist hany armanious.

the work will comprise 60 handmade bronze bird sculptures
images © tracey emin

‘cloud arch’ by junya ishigami rises more than 50 meters above george street outside sydney town hall, situated at the heart of the city center. tapered in two directions, the structure will be built from steel plates forming a design intended to serve as a gateway landmark to the newly transformed pedestrian street.

‘the cloud evokes comfort, openness and freedom. through freedom, it is connected to cloud computing which, in turn, links to the quality of ‘connected city’ – so important to sydney’, said ishigami.

the figures are perched on poles and above doorways and awnings
image © tracey emin

tracey emin’s ‘the distance of your heart’ will comprise 60 delicate handmade bronze bird sculptures perching on poles and above doorways and awnings. existing at a human scale, the work addresses australia’s distance from the rest of the world- examining the themes of isolation and loneliness.

‘as my artwork I would like to make a counter site in sydney for the young, the old, the backpackers, the tourists and the businessmen and women; somewhere else they can have their image taken to send back to the loved ones that they miss, that conveys the feelings of distance and homesickness,’ commented emin.

‘pavilion’ by hany armanious is an exact replica of a generic milk crate, scaled up to a height of 13.7 meters
image © hany armanious

simply called ‘pavilion’, hany armanious has created an exact replica of a generic milk crate scaled up to a height of 13.7 meters. positioned within belmore park, the sculpture is intended to poke fun at the nature of existing monuments, reinterpreting the idea of a public meeting space.

‘at such a scale, ‘pavilion’ assumes the authority and majestic beauty of a gothic cathedral or greek temple, while remaining intrinsically contemporary – speaking to the built environment in surprising ways’, explains armanious.

positioned within belmore park, the sculpture is intended to poke fun at the nature of existing monuments
image © hany armanious

all works are expected to be installed from 2017, in line with the implementation of the central business district and south east light rail line. once complete, they will become part of the city’s growing public art collection – city art.