DECEMBER 2016
AN INITIATIVE OF
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PARTNER
DESIGNERS
The City of Hobart thanks our venue partner, the University of Tasmania, for its generous contribution to the exhibition.
Dr Belinda Winkler Gerhard Mausz Michelle Donde Nick Randall Dr Phillip Blacklow P-LAB Collective Sara Lindsay Scott Van Tuil Simon Williams
Project liaison: Dr Maria Kunda Exhibition support: Jane Barlow JUDGES Dr ZoĂŤ Veness, Lecturer, University of Tasmania Peter Hughes, Senior Curator (Decorative Arts), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Karina Clarke, CEO, Design Tasmania
CITY OF HOBART Project management: Carmen Salter Graphic design: Heike Schmidt Marketing, communications and media: Alison Hetherington, Grace Burdick, Kerry Baker Administrative support: Beatrix Vivian
AN INITIATIVE OF
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
CONTENTS
Lord Mayor’s Message Plimsoll Gallery Director’s Statement About the Award Our Judges Shortlisted Designers Dr Belinda Winkler Gerhard Mausz Michelle Donde Nick Randall Dr Phillip Blacklow P-LAB Collective Sara Lindsay Scott Van Tuil Simon Williams Hobart Town Hall
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LORD MAYOR’S MESSAGE
Alderman Sue Hickey Lord Mayor of Hobart Welcome to the Hobart Town Hall 150 Design Award. The Hobart Town Hall’s 150th anniversary is a momentous occasion and the Council is delighted to be able to offer this one-off opportunity to Tasmanian designers as part of the celebrations. The works, created by nine practitioners working within the field of design, speaks plainly of the high-calibre of contemporary design practice in Tasmania. I extend my congratulations to all the participating designers for their contribution to the Hobart Town Hall 150 Design Award.
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Tasmanian designers play a unique and vital role in Australian design and the City of Hobart recognises the value of a vibrant design industry within our cultural and creative sectors. The City of Hobart has invested strongly in its Creative Hobart Strategy. A strategy that emphasises the importance of the cultural and creative sectors in building community wellbeing and economic viability, and creating a culturally rich sense of place - positioning Hobart as a truly creative city for the benefit of residents and visitors. To mark this special year, the 150th anniversary of the Hobart Town Hall, the call for entries was open to Tasmanian designers for a major commission. Nine designers were shortlisted and invited to develop a concept for a three dimensional object to be displayed in a public exhibition at the Plimsoll Gallery in December 2016. The winning concept will be offered a major design commission to the value of $20,000 that will become part of the City of Hobart’s permanent collection to be publicly displayed within the Hobart Town Hall. I sincerely thank our judges Peter Hughes, Dr ZoÍ Veness and Karina Clarke. It is a difficult task to choose just one winner, made more so by the high quality entries. The City gratefully acknowledges our partner, The University of Tasmania, and host venue, the Plimsoll Gallery. Maria Kunda and her team have done a magnificent job to manage and curate the exhibition. I am positive you will enjoy this exhibition. 2
PLIMSOLL GALLERY DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
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It is a great privilege for the Plimsoll Gallery to host this exhibition to showcase the design proposals by the finalists for the Hobart Town Hall 150 Design Award. Architecture and design have changed radically in 150 years. The concepts displayed in this exhibition suggest new ways for experiencing particular public areas in the Town Hall, as well as demonstrating contemporary design thinking, approaches to materials, and interesting fusions of traditional skills and ‘high-tech’ fabrication techniques. Today, design methods include computer-aided drawing and 3D renditions; construction methods may involve laser cutters and digital routers. This exhibition is particularly timely as the 150th anniversary of the Town Hall corresponds to a moment of resurgence in interest in design at the Tasmanian College of the Arts (TCotA), where we are undergoing an exhilarating shift in thinking about what design can be. Beyond concrete thinking, design can effect changes of habit and value; it can forge new relationships, enhance inclusivity and bring about change. This year, as Head of Studio (3D Design), we welcome Dr Zoë Veness, who has taken part in the judging of the Design Award. Zoë brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to TCotA’s design stream, which will expand and build upon an august history of craft production and furniture design, the latter under the leadership of the late John Smith. History and innovation are evident in the ingenuity and quality of the work in this exhibition, demonstrating the vibrancy and diversity of Tasmania’s extensive and expanding design community. Dr Maria Kunda
ABOUT THE AWARD The Hobart Town Hall 150 Design Award celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Town Hall with a major 3D design commission for Tasmanian designers. Following a call for entries, nine designers were invited to develop concepts for the award. The winning designer will receive $20,000 to develop the concept and fabricate the work, which will become part of the City of Hobart’s permanent collection and be publicly displayed within the Town Hall. The award was judged by an independent panel of judges, including Peter Hughes from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Karina Clarke from Design Tasmania and Dr Zoë Veness from the University of Tasmania. Presented by the City of Hobart in partnership with the University of Tasmania, the Hobart Town Hall 150 Design Award exhibition is on display at the University’s Plimsoll Gallery in Hunter Street, Hobart, from 10 December 2016 – 29 January 2017.
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OUR JUDGES
Dr Zoë Veness Dr Zoë Veness is an artist, designer and academic with interests in contemporary jewellery and object design. Her work has been selected for exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, England, Scotland, Germany, and the USA, and is held in private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of South Australia. She is the recipient of awards, grants and residencies, including a 2011 Australian postgraduate award to undertake PhD research at UNSW Art & Design in which she examined interdisciplinary approaches to objectbased design practice. She went on to become an Associate Lecturer at UNSW Art & Design in Sydney. In July 2016, Zoë moved from the south coast of NSW to Hobart to lecture at the Tasmanian College of the Arts, University of Tasmania.
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Karina Clarke Karina Clarke is the CEO of Design Tasmania. Her areas of expertise include furniture, homewares, design management and interior design. Karina’s experience as a senior lecturer at UNSW Art & Design gives her a deep understanding of the cultural and social influences which shape our response to furniture and objects. She has worked within the manufacturing sector and also continues her practice as a designer and consultant to other businesses. The breadth of her design experience underpins her commitment to the collaboration and dialogue between designer, manufacturer and user, which she sees as central to the development of furniture, lighting and objects for smallscale production or individual handmade designs.
Peter Hughes Peter Hughes has been Curator of Decorative Arts at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery since 1999. His research interests are contemporary craft and design, Tasmanian colonial period furniture and the history of ornament and decoration.
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DR BELINDA WINKLER
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An artist and designer, Dr Belinda Winkler’s practice spans ceramics, sculpture and design. A maker by nature, she is happiest when covered in plaster and surrounded by an array of fresh warm casts, each imbued with the tension and pressure of its creation and loaded with potential. Belinda recently completed her PhD through RMIT University’s School of Architecture and Design, having previously received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours from the University of Tasmania. Belinda is represented by the Bett Gallery and lives and works in Hobart, Tasmania.
Resonance One hundred and fifty years ago, Henry Hunter designed the beautiful Huon pine and cedar central staircase of the Hobart Town Hall. I propose to create a body of work that responds to this space, one that combines silky smooth Southern Ice porcelain vases and bowls, with a long slim Huon pine table. The ancient Huon pine of the table, echoes the deep golden tones of Hunter’s balusters. The minimal Huon stretcher table and porcelain bowls are a contemporary expression of elegance, as was Henry Hunter’s staircase. Each precious and distinctly Tasmanian material, from which this body of work is composed, resonates with time and history.
Image credit: Peter Whyte
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GERHARD MAUSZ
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Gerhard is an experienced visual artist (BFA, University of Tasmania, 1996) working in three dimensions. He completed his pattern maker apprenticeship in the German car industry in the early 1980s, and has a multitude of skills in designing and making objects. Since 1996, Gerhard has completed 18 public art commissions and many private commissions. Among his clients are the City of Hobart, Glenorchy City Council, Arts Tasmania, Department of Education Tasmania, Salamanca Arts Centre, Moonah Arts Centre and Kickstart Arts. Gerhard has collaborated with David Patman, Michelle Boyde, Kieran Bradley, Marcus Tatton and Patrick Badger on public art commissions, mainly for primary and high schools in Tasmania.
Hammerschlag and Crystal Flowers Town Hall flower shows have been held since the eighteen hundreds. My design for two vertical sculptural light sources is based on imaginary flowers. My proposed flower lights will be placed in the corner niches to the left and right of the organ, facing the central chandelier closest to the stage. Hundreds of cut crystals are fitted to the flower heads radiating light facets from powerful hidden lamps. The strength of the light is regulated via dimmers. The base and vertical structure is fabricated by hand from curved pipe and cold forged and hammered components out of brass, copper, stainless steel or aluminium. Details such as leaves and petals may be made in copper. The crystals, copper and brass match the organ, chandeliers and colour scheme of the hall.
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MICHELLE DONDE
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Michelle completed a four-year sculpture diploma in South Africa. She has taught drawing, photography and general art to design and architecture students, while exhibiting her work as an artist. She emigrated to Israel and completed a four-year Bachelor of Industrial Design. In Tel Aviv, she set up her first glass foundry, studied hot glass and glass blowing in the USA and England and during this period continued teaching sculpture to industrial design students. In 1999, Michelle moved to Sydney and set up a glass making facility called Diffuse Glass Light Works. While there she was commissioned to produce installations, large light fittings, lighting design, awards, housewares, and artwork.
Ante Room Remnant My concept is based on a play between ‘the building is haunted by the ghost’, and ‘ghost’, as in, ‘a faint secondary image produced by a fault in an optical system’. I have chosen the original gas jet chandelier from the Town Hall as a subject for its predominance as a newsworthy story and because of my background and passion as a luminaire designer. By using symbolism during the creative process, I am duplicating, by way of an installation, a ‘wispy’ expression of the original. Using space, material, flecks of light, beauty and memories from the past.
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NICK RANDALL
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Nick Randall is an established furniture designer and craftsman who has undertaken a wide variety of projects covering a broad spectrum of the design sector for both residential and commercial spaces. His current practice focuses on forming a synthesis of traditional hands-on craftsmanship and techniques with the power and efficiency of digital technologies. This approach enables him to create works at a higher level of complexity and to explore new possibilities while still retaining the warmth and depth that a connection to the maker enables.
Extrados Table The design intent of my ‘Extrados’ table is to pay homage to both the architectural features and history of the Town Hall. Its form centres around the arc in reference to the arches that are a prominent recurring feature of the Town Hall. Created from timber utilising a boat building technique, it reflects the connection the Town Hall has with the adjacent harbour and of Hobart’s nautical history. Designed and constructed utilising a combination of traditional and contemporary craftsmanship, it pays respect to the legacy of the Town Hall’s creators while embracing its future.
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DR PHILLIP BLACKLOW
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From his early training as a traditional furniture maker in the mid 1970s, his emphasis has been on producing work of the highest standards of craftsmanship possible. This has led to major commissions, one of which was the central furniture in the Senate chamber, Parliament House, Canberra. Later, he taught at the Tasmanian School of Art, completing a Masters Degree in Fine Art. Then in 2016, he was awarded a PhD in Philosophy, majoring in high value uses for plantation eucalypt. This research is underpinned by a commercial making practice spanning 40 years.
Interactive Information Kiosk The concept for this cabinet is modelled on a museum display case, the only difference is this one contains a large format touch-screen monitor. This will enable the public to interact with the display. The cabinet’s ability to reflect what is going on in the Council chamber is a key feature of this design. The ability to configure it as an information kiosk will allow the public to access historical information as well as any other information that fits with the Council’s needs. The nature of this kiosk invites interaction, setting it apart from the other static displays within the building.
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P-LAB COLLECTIVE
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THE P-LAB COLLECTIVE is an interdisciplinary team formed through CXI’s Performance in Practice Laboratory (Creative Exchange Institute), especially for the Hobart Town Hall 150 Design Award. Exploring how crafted objects perform for communities, the group is comprised of performance architect Dorita Hannah, artist Brigita Ozolins, historian Stefan Petrow, furniture designer Phoebe Adams and Aboriginal elder Aunty Patsy Cameron. Hannah has designed international performances and exhibitions; Ozolins’ work includes large-scale installations for MONA; Petrow specialises in Tasmania’s history; Adams’ objects explore gender issues through humour; and Aunty Patsy is renowned for her contribution to cultural heritage, especially through craft practices.
NOIHEENA: Peace Justice Healing Noiheena—a local Aboriginal word referencing the sun, ‘good spirit’ and sparks in the night sky— is a ceremonial vessel dedicated to peace, justice and healing. Representing a coming together of Hobart’s multi-layered history through the merging of indigenous and introduced timbers, steel and acrylic, it is designed for cleansing space with vapours from native plants. The contoured outer form was inspired by striated mussel shells, water carriers, boats and canoes, as well as the growth rings on tree trunks. As a guardian figure, Noiheena rests on a stand on the landing of the Town Hall’s central staircase and can be moved to enact its ritual task both outside and within the building. The proposed vessel will be constructed from digitally fabricated layers of timber and acrylic, with a removable inner metal bowl and stainless steel text spelling out PEACE HEALING JUSTICE embedded within the rim.
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SARA LINDSAY
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Sara Lindsay is an artist, designer and object maker. Sara is fascinated by the ways we re-make the world for our needs and seeks opportunities to make the mundane playfully engaging. Integral to Sara’s practice is an iterative process of discovery and refinement. Using digital design and manufacturing techniques, mediated by material investigation and a hand-making process, Sara creates objects that are implicitly playful. These objects engage the senses, evoke curiosity, invite a reciprocal relationship, and become transformed through use.
Acanthus In this place, in rooms imbued with the culture and symbolism of the northern hemisphere, decisions are made that guide the future of our city. Echoing the acanthus leaf motif in a reprocessed modern material, a new form is created and attention is drawn to the continuing cultural transformation of the greater Hobart region. Digitally crafted from repurposed milk bottle plastic, the motif is repeated and sewn into geometric patterns. The raw material is collected from homes and businesses around Hobart, highlighting the changing attitudes towards the recycling and repurposing of materials.
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SCOTT VAN TUIL
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Scott van Tuil is an emerging Tasmanian designer who believes design is for people, and at its best can positively influence our interactions with each other and with our environments. Driven by a desire to create work defined by elegance and clarity, he draws inspiration to create from the everyday world around him. Holding a Bachelor of Environmental Design (Furniture) degree from the University of Tasmania, Scott is passionate about handson design practice and process—taking a good idea and developing it into something great. Scott believes Mies van der Rohe was right when he said “God is in the details”.
Light Rings The story of a tree is told through its growth rings. Moving outward from the heartwood, each concentric ring records another year of the tree’s life. This outward movement of life and growth serves as a metaphor for the place of the Town Hall in the City of Hobart. The arrangement of this chandelier has been informed by the growth ring pattern of a 150-year-old Tasmanian eucalypt. The pairing of curved polished brass elements with Tasmanian timber veneers, speaks to the establishment of a new city in a land that has always been.
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SIMON WILLIAMS
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I was born and raised in Western Australia, and spent my spare time surfing, skateboarding and riding my bike. I was trained in the arts of map making, photography and design. I have explored my interests in architecture, urban design and things that move. My utilitarian concrete sculptures, skateparks, dot Tasmania from north to south, under the label of ‘Concrete Dreams’. In 2013, I received an international design award for my innovative electric motorcycle and exhibited the vehicle in Paris, France. Designing is my day job and in my spare time I still enjoy surfing, skateboarding and riding my bike.
Great-Ocean Journeymen and Other Ghost Stories (Boat Couch) Generations of ghosts walk these halls. It is in these buildings and objects they leave behind that connect us to them, and give substance to the stories they tell. We are connected to the water and means by which to journey across it. For those that make it, new lands present despair and the struggle to survive. Yet we thrive. The discovery of an abandoned boat on a lonely beach, ravaged by time and consumed by the elements, makes us question, and come to a realisation that some stories will never be told.
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HOBART TOWN HALL One hundred and fifty years ago, the citizens of Hobart attended a grand ball to celebrate the completion of their much anticipated Town Hall, and this year we have celebrated that anniversary with concerts, an open day, a time capsule collection and the Design Award. Hobart’s Town Hall was completed in the same year as the Adelaide Town Hall, making them the oldest capital city town halls in the country. The laying of the Hobart Town Hall foundation stone in 1864 was of such importance to the small community that the day was declared a public holiday and the Mercury newspaper published a special supplement. The Governor in Chief at the time, Thomas Gore Browne, said the Town Hall was “a monument of the taste and spirit of the present generation, and the advancement of art and science�. Just over the road stood the Royal Society building, which was so admired that its architect Henry Hunter was commissioned to design the Town Hall. His original design was Gothic-style but was seen as unsuitable and so he settled on the Italianate design that is largely unchanged today. Various additions and internal alterations to the Town Hall have occurred over the years, but the central rooms remain true to the vision of Hunter 150 years ago.
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Experiment, collaborate, play and take risks Push the boundaries of Art & Design. There is still time to enrol in a Diploma of Fine Art & Design, Bachelor of Visual Communications, or our new Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours at the Tasmanian College of the Arts starting Semester 1, 2017.
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Published by the City of Hobart, December 2016 Š City of Hobart 2016 Catalogue printed by Focal Printing 29