Public Art

Distant Things Appear Suddenly Near

Sean Lynch, Distant Things Appear Suddenly Near, 2021-23, mixed media; photograph by Aaron Claringbold, courtesy the artist, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, and City of Melbourne.

Visual Artist: Sean Lynch

Artwork Title: Distant Things Appear Suddenly Near

Commissioning Body: City of Melbourne

Date Sited: 2021

Commission Type: Local Authority, direct invitation

Commissioned by the City of Melbourne, Irish artist Sean Lynch’s Distant Things Appear Suddenly Near combines architectural reconstruction, elements from the city’s history of public art, and a variety of found objects referencing urban Melbourne. The entwined arrangement of these elements, onsite until late 2023, points to a balletic ritual of the cityscape, placing the City of Melbourne as both subject and witness to its own existence and ongoing urban renewal.

A scale replica of the Corkman Hotel, a well-known meeting place once located at University Square, is presented as a key focal point of the artwork. The original structure was illegally demolished in 2016, and prominently reported in the Australian media, with discussion about gentrification and city heritage policy. As part of the continuing development of University Square, old elm trees were felled in 2017 – they return to join a collection of various unused, non-functional lampposts and bollards, all found during scavenging in the City of Melbourne’s storage depots.

In addition, Distant Things Appear Suddenly Near prominently features elements of Adelaide-based artist Hossein Valamanesh’s 1997 public artwork, Faultline. Originally sited on Southbank Promenade, much of the installation was removed in the early 2000s and placed in storage. Its reappearance suggests public art as ‘acupuncture’ for the cityscape, a roving form that finds particular moments to intervene in the urban infrastructure. A bronze figure, a boat and pier may initially seem adrift, yet subtly refer to a journey made to a new site, and to the Aboriginal history of the area as a tributary of the Yarra River.

Under Darkening Skies

Susan Mannion, Under Darkening Skies, 2022, installation view; photograph by Matthew Gammon, courtesy of the artist and Mayo Arts Service.

Visual Artist: Susan Mannion

Artwork Title: Under Darkening Skies

Commissioning Body: The artwork was commissioned by the Office of Public Works (OPW) under the Percent for Art Scheme

Date Sited: March 2022

Commission Type: Open Competition

Project Partners: The OPW in collaboration with the NPWS of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Mayo County Council Arts Service, to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of Ballycroy Visitor Centre.

Under Darkening Skies is a public art commission by visual artist Susan Mannion at the Ballycroy Visitor Centre at Wild Nephin National Park in northwest County Mayo. It was officially launched by Sean Lysaght on 21 June 2022. The artwork takes the form of enamel panels representing the night sky, attached to the exterior wall of the Ballycroy Visitor Centre.

Susan Mannion is a visual artist based in Boyle, County Roscommon, who specialises in copper enamel work, a technique that has been used since the thirteenth century BC. Mannion describes how she was: “spellbound by the majesty and beauty of the night sky” on first viewing the Milky Way, while holidaying in Mayo in 2013.

Subsequent visits to the National Park followed, with Mayo’s naturally dark skies continuing to inspire the artist, and creating an “emotional and protective connection... I loved having the opportunity to create a wall-mounted sculpture combining imagery of the night-time skies of this unique site, created in the jewel like qualities and amazing colour range of enamel. I designed a sculpture that would not interfere with, obscure or damage this unique and distinctive setting.”

The artwork was informed by discussion with the community, staff and visitors to the centre and through a questionnaire that was conducted in 2020 and 2021. People expressed how the landscape and dark skies had a huge impact on their lives.