© irene waters 2015
© irene waters 2015
Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD is a must visit when staying in the city. I’m am so glad that I did one of the free tours which leaves from the vistor’s information centre at 11am every day as I would not have understood half of what the architects and artist had in mind without the information that I gained from the guide and the pamphlets she gave me.
Nearamnew is a huge artwork which is underfoot. It consists of three parts. Firstly – a whorl pattern which uses cobblestones from the Kimberly sandstone laid in a fashion to cause you to walk and be aware of location and place, linking land and water and global, regional and local aspects of our federally organised society.
Located within this whorl are nine ground visions and nine vision texts. As you walk you read and the place becomes alive as the treader becomes part of the place as they add their own voices, associations, memories and imaginings. The texts of the Nearamnew are written on angles and in layers symbolising the reality of places.
The pamphlet says (and I agree) ” As you tread, you just might have the sensation of walking in the footsteps of the many who have gone before, retracing the many discourses that have tracked through, over and under this site.
Paul Carter, the artist, had a great vision as he told the story of the site’s rich and conflicting heritage.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Sometimes guided tours ar the BEST! I would like seeing this myself.
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Do so if you are ever in Melbourne. Without the tour I would never have known that I didn’t know (and this was only part of it.)
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I am not an artist, (only a literary hack) so I’m constantly amazed at the creativity of some artists. They reach deep within themselves for their inspiration, and it shows!
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I know what you mean. I feel the same way and yet writing itself is a creative pursuit. I think it is hard to recognise the creativity in ourselves especially when you see something like this that requires a huge amount of vision.
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What an engaging work of art. Sometimes I wonder if it can be planned or if it just happens, or if something unexpected occurs in the interaction.
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Perhaps a bit of both.
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I love art that reflects heritage and history, and a piece that encourages visitor interaction also gains insight for the viewer who is now also one of the makers. Art that breathes has meaning and life. Thank you for the post – loved reading this.
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Glad you enjoyed it. Wish you could see it in person because it truly is amazing. When you look at the cobblestones and look at the past the cobbles are the same colour as the building of the past which joins them all into the artwork as well bring old and new together. It is superb.
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