Kings Park Festival
Perth Western Australia
-
Client: Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority
-
Role of Artsource: Art Consultant
-
Artists: Sally Stoneman, Karen Millar and Pascal Proteau
-
Outcome: Two ephemeral artwork commissions for the 2017 Kings Park Festival
-
Artwork budget: $53,000
-
Completion date: September 2017
Two ephemeral artworks took centre stage at this year’s 2017 Kings Park Festival after Artsource were engaged to act as Art Consultants by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority.
Responding to a request for a site-responsive and integrated artwork that encompassed the theme of the 2017 Kings Park Festival, Where the wildflowers are, Artsource engaged Perth-based artists Sally Stoneman, Karen Millar and Pascal Proteau to create two distinctive artworks which were displayed in Kings Park throughout September 2017.
Inspired by the diverse and complex interrelationships between WA’s unique animal and plant species, Sally Stoneman’s Woven Wildernest (above and left) is designed to honour the Kwongan ecoregion found in south-west Western Australia. The term ‘Kwongan’ is a Noongar word describing the sandy, open and shrub-vegetated lands of the South West. It is an area of global importance and a significant biodiversity hotspot, with half of the species in this region found nowhere else on Earth. Woven Wildernest aims to highlight the distinctive flowering plants found in this area.
The nest began with the felling of an old Jarrah tree situated on the site and was developed using branches and plant material collected from within the Botanical Gardens. Stoneman through her use of recognisable organic forms captured concepts of protection, safety and nurture.
Karen Millar and Pascal Proteau’s From Pollination to Inspiration (right and below) explores the life stages of wildflowers from pollination to new growth. This three-part installation features intricate natural designs of pollen grains and seedlings each located amongst the mature trees located near the Floral Clock at the entry to the WA Botanic Garden.
Accompanying the artworks were a series of artist-led workshops and talks by Stoneman, which engaged audiences in wider conversations around caring, cultivating, and raising awareness of Western Australia’s unique and endemic animal and plant species.
The 2017 Kings Park Festival attracted an expected over 600,000 visitors over the month-long period, demonstrating Artsource’s commitment to projects that engage significant new audiences in the production of contemporary and temporary art projects that activate broader social, cultural and environmental dialogue and exchanges.
