Special route needed to bring Uniting a Nation statue to Adelaide
A GIANT statue donated to the Art Gallery of South Australia is yet to come to Adelaide because a route from NSW that doesn’t encounter any bridges, wires or tunnels is still being drawn up.
A GIANT statue donated to the Art Gallery of South Australia is yet to come to Adelaide because a route from NSW that doesn’t encounter any bridges, wires or tunnels is still being drawn up.
Earlier this year, philanthropist Basil Sellers donated the four-storey high, five-tonne aluminium piece by renowned artist Terrance Plowright to the gallery’s permanent collection.
The $1 million piece, titled Uniting a Nation, is slated to be installed on a platform in the Torrens Lake, and will be lit up at night.
It was originally earmarked to come to Adelaide in May.
The Advertiser has been told that the reason for the delay is the complexity of both transporting the sculpture to Adelaide and installing it in the proposed position, 6m from the lake’s edge.
Because Uniting a Nation is so large, transporting it by road – the preferred option – means it needs to avoid bridges, power lines and tunnels.
Asked by The Advertiser if confirming a route that avoided those obstacles was causing the hold-up, a gallery spokeswoman said due diligence was still to be completed.
“The Art Gallery of South Australia and Adelaide City Council are currently working together to complete the necessary steps for the installation of the major public sculpture by Australian artist Terrance Plowright,” she said.
“This includes engineering reports, site investigation, permits, community consultation, artist liaison and an assessment of the ongoing requirements for the work.”
Mr Sellers and the gallery will pitch in $300,000 toward costs including transport, site investigation and promotion.
Adelaide City Council will chip in up to $225,000, largely to design and build the footings and plinth in the Torrens Lake, and also for site preparations, installation, lighting and launch of the mammoth sculpture.
It also will set aside up to $50,000 for yearly maintenance and insurance.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese said he couldn’t wait for the sculpture to arrive in Adelaide.
“It will polarise people but that’s public art and in many ways that’s why it’s fantastic,” Mr Haese said.
“I think it will be a focal point for the Riverbank and something that will be magnificent.
“It’s an extraordinary act of philanthropy, we don’t see a lot of it in this day and age so we are very grateful for Basil Sellers for donating it to Adelaide.
“I can’t wait until it is a wonderful part of our city.”
Uniting A Nation was commissioned after a “handshake” agreement between Mr Sellers and former NSW arts minister George Souris.
But a Sydney Harbour site could not be agreed on.
Negotiations stalled after Barry O’Farrell resigned as NSW premier and his replacement Mike Baird dumped Mr Souris from the front bench.
Three NSW councils then vied for the artwork.
Mr Sellers donated the sculpture to SA as a “gift of gratitude to the Australian public, a country that welcomed him as a young migrant”, Adelaide City Council documents from earlier this year said.
The donation, in the form of a long-term loan of Uniting a Nation to South Australia, could be extended until 2038.
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