i thought i would tell you
the story of the sound shell
some years ago, the then mayor of the shire,
rod may, while on a walk- about through the Hepburn reserve
asked me, when we got to the sound shell,
if i could do something about the drab greyness of the building
i said that i would give it some thought
when i am asked do create a site-specific work
i go the that site and sit and think about
what the particular site would like.
i had my morning coffee there for three days
waiting for the sound shell to tell me what it would like.
when a flock of white galahs tumbled, rather then flew,
across the roof of the sound shell, i had my answer.
over a period of time, using commercial floor tiles,
i cut out over 100 birds.
when the problems with the heritage council in melbourne
were overcome i glued the birds to the wall
the following week continued with the project
when Oliver Patsch, bagged the wall
using a coloured bagging mix.
the inspiration for the colour came
from one of the pumps nearby
which showed a rusty, ochre-terra-cotta, mineral colour.
the walls were bagged instead of rendered, my preferable method,
because the heritage council wanted the integrity of the building,
and the way it was built, to be maintained.
this is the concrete block integrity
the end of the week will see this project finalised
"Poetry is when you make new things familiar and familiar things new"
