Brook Andrew - Warrang
Brook Andrew
Born 1970, Sydney, New South Wales. Lives and works Melbourne, Victoria and Paris, France. Wiradjuri people.
Warrang 2012
animated LED arrow, Australian hardwood with shou-sugi-ban finish, sand-blasted concrete, epoxy resin
Commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia as part of its heritage interpretation program in relation to the historic docks located under the new MCA building, 2012
History revived through public art is often a tricky task. I think history - whose history?... I was interested in reflecting on the romance of the site and what it was, and in addressing the dream-like qualities of history and how we perceive histories in different ways.
- Brook Andrew, 2011
Drawing attention to the history of this significant site of Warrang (the Eora name for Sydney Cove) and the colonial docks that are buried beneath the museum, Brook Andrew's work presents a large LED arrow that points down towards seven lines of poetry that have been sandblasted into the concrete forecourt. The text hints at lost and covered histories, while the kinetic zig-zag pattern featured in the arrow is inspired by Andrew's Wiradjuri heritage and tradition. For Wiradjuri, the radial diamond pattern was an important cultural marker used on shields and dendroglyphs (marked trees). Andrew's arrow dazzles with a strobing pattern that 'like a spear, way-finder and marker of a point to cut or saw and build, appears as a dizzying light, drawing attention to this important site.
Brook Andrew - Warrang
Brook Andrew
Born 1970, Sydney, New South Wales. Lives and works Melbourne, Victoria and Paris, France. Wiradjuri people.
Warrang 2012
animated LED arrow, Australian hardwood with shou-sugi-ban finish, sand-blasted concrete, epoxy resin
Commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia as part of its heritage interpretation program in relation to the historic docks located under the new MCA building, 2012
History revived through public art is often a tricky task. I think history - whose history?... I was interested in reflecting on the romance of the site and what it was, and in addressing the dream-like qualities of history and how we perceive histories in different ways.
- Brook Andrew, 2011
Drawing attention to the history of this significant site of Warrang (the Eora name for Sydney Cove) and the colonial docks that are buried beneath the museum, Brook Andrew's work presents a large LED arrow that points down towards seven lines of poetry that have been sandblasted into the concrete forecourt. The text hints at lost and covered histories, while the kinetic zig-zag pattern featured in the arrow is inspired by Andrew's Wiradjuri heritage and tradition. For Wiradjuri, the radial diamond pattern was an important cultural marker used on shields and dendroglyphs (marked trees). Andrew's arrow dazzles with a strobing pattern that 'like a spear, way-finder and marker of a point to cut or saw and build, appears as a dizzying light, drawing attention to this important site.