Curated by us in collaboration with the PLACE Design Group, two impressive new public art commissions celebrate Fortitude Valley’s undeniable creative credentials while acknowledging that it is an exciting time for the economic revitalisation of the Valley.
Both artworks respond to a curatorial rationale of ‘resonance and reverberation’ based on the presence, history, and importance of live and original contemporary music for the Mall. This focus has resulted in two stunning artworks: Echo Orbit by Sandra Selig and Sunset Strip by Jennifer Marchant.
Neither artwork is intended to merely decorate the Mall. The text and tension experienced through these works deliberately asks viewers/pedestrians to recognise the creative hub of this culturally pluralistic locale.
The resonance they create is the symbolic connected energy between space, history and cultural memory – an intergenerational passage of experiences that comprise the shared recollections of friends and lovers, hookups and break- ups, gigs and events – usually fuelled by the dual stimulants of live original contemporary music and the convivial enhancements of their time.