5 October 2015
Kathy Allam: The Green Dream (2015)
Kathy Allam’s installation, The Green Dream, was selected for 108 St Georges Terrace to celebrate World Green Building Week. Delicately suspended from the central atrium, thousands of transparent plastic bottle bases have been joined to create a trio of ethereal, shiny, free-flowing cloud forms. The transparent bases transform as the individual units are amassed by the thousands into captivating, large, billowing cloud forms.
The Green Dream considers our hopes of creating a more sustainable future, whilst raising questions about our consumer choices.
We dream with our head in the clouds; floating high above the viewer, the work alludes to the enticing quality of our dreams, desires and aspirations, which often lie just out of reach.
For the tenants and visitors of 108 St Georges Terrace The Green Dream is a work that adds a dash of whimsy and delight to the everyday. Allam’s subtle inteventions into space awaken the curiosity of the viewer and are a trigger for conversation. People are often heard exclaiming, “That’s awesome/amazing/beautiful... What’s it made from? How did they make it? How many bottles are there? It reminds me of....” For Allam being able to create, ‘something so beautiful out of something so ordinary’ and which has the potential to offer the viewer a fresh perspective of the world is the impetus for her practice.
Kathy Allam is an emerging artist whose artistic practice explores the repurposing and revaluing of items commonly discarded. She is currently exploring the artistic and material limits of the bases of plastic bottles. Allam has exhibited in numerous exhibitions, the most notable being at Sculptures by the Sea, Cottesloe from 2011 to 2014 and Bondi in 2013. Major prizes include Melville Sculpture Walk, Castaways – Rockingham, and the kid’s favourite at SxS Cottesloe in 2013. Her work is held in the collections of The Department of Premier and Cabinet, CIT and numerous private collections. The Green Dream will be installed at 108 St Georges Terrace for the entire month of October 2015.
The Green Dream will be installed at 108 St Georges Terrace for the entire month of October 2015. The Green Dream was commissioned by Arts Brookfield as part of their commitment to presenting exciting, world-class cultural experiences to thousands of people for free each year. These projects are run in both indoor and outdoor public spaces at Brookfield’s premier buildings in Denver, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, Perth and Sydney. From concerts, theatre and dance to film screenings and art exhibitions, Arts Brookfield brings public spaces to life through art.
Project Details
Artist: Kathy Allam
Client: Brookfield Property Partners
Project Location: 108 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Art Consultant: Perdita Phillips
Year Completed: 2015