Public art: City sculptures

Public Art | "Sculptures" in the City

The impressive installation by artist Nadia Odlum initiates a shared passageway, creating unexpected shifts in daily life through fluidity. It stimulates curiosity, and a series of installations encourages interaction with the growing urban community through distorted forms. Centered around two residential apartment buildings, the installation experiments with parallels in artistic expression between two - dimensional and three - dimensional forms. Locals are invited to walk through the sculptural arcade while sitting and communing on street furniture, tables, and benches to cultivate a sense of community. On the ground plane, graphic lines interact with these elements to create stunning visual effects.

In the passageway at 501 Botany Road, between the Palm and Chelsea apartments, you'll find an interesting sculpture. These apartments are a horizontal combination by the builder - developer Waterside Constructions, and the sculpture occupies public space in the Zetland area of the City of Sydney.

Cultural planner and art management consultant, Marla Guppy, worked with artist Nadia Odlum on the concept of the work. Odlum, a Sydney - based artist, describes their practice as exploring the "material language of urban space and daily practices".

The work consists of seven tilted arches, each composed of seven stainless - steel tubes. The two largest arches are sculptures, and the other five can also serve as street furniture. The arches seem to cast shadows on the paving below, but upon closer inspection, the "shadows" are painted and permanent. The whole ensemble plays with the eye and the mind.

The tubular arches are fully formed and bead - blasted off - site. Tilt Industrial Design created the drawings and material specifications for the work, and Di Emme was responsible for production and installation. The arches are made of heavy - duty 75 - millimeter stainless - steel tubes that have been bead - blasted to give them a soft gray matte finish. Bead - blasting supports the natural aging of the material.

The tubular arches are fully formed off - site and installed on large base plates of pedestal concrete.