Super-size wall mural latest art announcement for Queen’s Wharf
A multimillion-dollar outdoor art splurge, including a $500,000 mural and work by the hottest artist in Australia, is set to captivate visitors as Brisbane’s biggest urban renewal project takes another major step forward.
Brisbane City
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A massive mural by Brisbane-based artist Samuel Tupou estimated to be worth around $500,000 is the latest art acquisition for Queens Wharf Brisbane which looks set to become the Queensland capital’s biggest outdoor art gallery.
The Star Entertainment Group said it would make art a centrepiece and it is stumping up around $12 million to make that happen.
The first major art work was announced recently, a work by Lindy Lee, the hottest artist in Australia right now. The homegrown Brisbane artist will create the signature masterpiece to be showcased as part of the transformational $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development.
The Australian painter and sculptor of Chinese heritage, who’s recent $14 million commission from the National Gallery of Australia is the most expensive work to be acquired by the gallery, is crafting a unique, eight-metre, 8000kg bronze sculpture for the George Street Atrium entrance to the Queens Wharf Brisbane precinct.
The work, Being Swallowed by the Milky Way, which is said to be a commission costing several million dollars, is anticipated to be a stunning oblong sculpture that will feature thousands of tiny holes puncturing its bronze surface. It is expected to be finished and in place by mid 2023.
At night it will appear as a shimmering, light-filled galaxy of silver and gold stars.
Now we can add Samuel Tupou’s super-sized panoramic mural which will be entitled Lungfish Dreamz and will be 16 metres long and 2 metres high. It will comprise pixilated squares of blue, violet, orange and yellow mosaic glass tiles and will run adjacent to the bicentennial bike
path between Queen’s Wharf Road and the Brisbane River.
Tupou said a visit to the site sparked his concept idea, drawing inspiration from both the river and the nearby glass mosaic on the former State
Library, which was created by Lindsay Edwards in 1959 to mark the centenary of the formation of the colony of Queensland.
“I wanted to connect with the area and of course the river but was fascinated by what’s beneath its surface,” he said.
“I discovered that the lungfish dates back millions of years and is found in the upper reaches of the Brisbane River and other South East Queensland waterways. This unique, locally found fish has survived for a very long time and is still around, but is largely unknown, so I wanted to draw attention to it.”
Often drawing on his Tongan and Polynesian heritage, Mr Tupou’s work has been included in collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Cairns Regional Art Gallery as well as high profile, public spaces in Brisbane and Ipswich. He exhibits at Onespace gallery in West End.
“This is the largest and most visible project I have been commissioned for,” he said. “I am so excited to be involved and hope my artwork will have a similar longevity as the lungfish.”
A Specialist Artistic Advisory panel, led by highly regarded art figure Philip Bacon alongside art curator and Director of the Institute of Modern Art Liz Nowell and respected Indigenous curator and arts administrator Avril Quaill, is curating the collection of artworks earmarked for the 7.5 hectares of public space within the entertainment and tourism precinct.
“The talent of local artists we’ve identified, who will be showcasing their artworks to millions of people visiting this precinct for years to come, including for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is exceptional,” Ms Quaill said. “Samuel Tupou’s work is known for his connection to culture, location and story, specifically referencing Queensland’s position in the Asia-Pacific region. The size, scale and gemlike quality of Samuel Tupou’s mural will be enjoyed for many years to come.”
Other artworks created by highly talented and respected local and international contemporary artists have been identified by the advisory panel and are soon to be revealed. They will all be in place for the $3.6 billion development’s planned staged opening from mid-2023.
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