Eastlink Sculpture Park

Post

Subscribe

Posted 2015-06-08 by Carmen Bethany ⇒ follow

Two hundred thousand motorists pass these artworks every single day, so in a way it's like a moving gallery. I'm referring to the . There are four large scale artworks that are permanently positioned on the Eastlink roadside. These sculptures, together with the sculptures along the Eastlink trail, make Australia's longest sculpture park. The sculptures showcase the works of internationally renowned artists. (Please note that you must not stop when travelling on Eastlink).

The first artwork is just past the Monash Freeway exit, on the northbound carriageway between Wellington Road and Corhanwarrabul Creek - Ellipsoidal Freeway Sculpture by James Angus. James Angus is an Australian artist whose works are included in many private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in Chicago and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. The sculpture on Eastlink consists of 24 ellipsoidal structures made from painted fiberglass and steel which runs across 30 metres of the freeway. The spheres are painted in a palette of greens, inspired by the local flora and James has said that they "are intended to form a series of lenses for viewing the surrounding landscape".

The second artwork is Public Art Strategy by Emily Floyd, situated by the southbound carriageway between Cheltenham Road and Dandenong Bypass. Emily Floyd is a Melbourne based artist whose works are held in Museums including The National Gallery of Victoria and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Public Art Strategy is 19 metres long, 13 metres high and made from fabricated steel, depicting a giant blackbird who she said is "ominously contemplating an object, part worm – part generic modernist sculpture".

The third artwork is Hotel by Callum Morton which is situated by the northbound carriageway between Greens Road and Bangholme Road. Hotel is made from a steel structural frame, concrete and glass panels and is 12 metres long and 20 metres high.

Callum Morton is a Melbourne-based artist who was born in Canada. His career combines academic positions with studio practice. He is a Professor at Monash University and has exhibited nationally and internationally, including the Santa Monica Museum of Art, Los Angeles and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

Hotel is a large scale model of a high rise hotel standing in isolation, in which nobody can go in. Morton says, "I have for some time been interested in how we perceive things while in motion, in particular from the space of the car. The freeway belongs to a family of spaces in contemporary life known as non-places. These spaces, that also include sports stadiums, airports, cinemas, casinos among others, are transit zones, built to facilitate our movement through them rather than encourage us to occupy them for any length of time".

The fourth sculpture is Desiring Machine by Simeon Nelson, situated in the northbound carriageway, south of Thompson Road. 'Desiring Machine' is a 36 metre long artwork made of steel plate representing a fallen tree or tower lying by the roadway.

Of the sculpture, the artist says; "It is a crashed relic of machine-age desire putting down new roots into the earth and unfurling tendrils from it's architectonic radii and sections to motorists speeding past. It is...a relic of the struggle of humans to co-exist with nature."

Born in England, Simeon Nelson lived and worked in Australia for over 30 years. He graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 1987 and has exhibited extensively, including Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne and Museum of Garden History, London.

There are 12 sculptures along the Eastlink trail, which is a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians that runs along the length of Eastlink from Dandenong to Ringwood. Some of the sculptures include Red Rings by Inge King which is an artwork comprising 3 painted steel rings, each 2.5 metres in diameter. Inge King donated this sculpture through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Inge King is a highly respected Australian sculptor, born in Germany, and having exhibited worldwide. Some of her best known works are Forward Surge at the Melbourne Arts Centre and Rings of Saturn at Heide Museum of Modern Art.

Also along the Eastlink trail is Boy Looking Up by Matt Calvert. Matt is a Tasmanian sculptor who conveys themes of loss, memory and caution in his artworks. He was recently awarded the Montalto Sculpture Prize and has many works in private and public collections.

The Eastlink Trail connects to numerous other paths, including the Mullum Mullum Creek Trail, the Blind Creek Trail, the Ferny Creek Trail and the Dandenong Creek Trail.

For more information about the and Trail you can visit the website here .