ARTSCAPE International has commissioned three Australian artists to produce artworks for the Galaxy Resort and Casino in Cotai City, Macau a $2b development which opened in 2011.
ARTSCAPE worked with a Hong Kong firm to supply five of the eight large scale artworks being installed within the 55 ha complex. They collaborated over a 12 month period working impartially to serve both artist and client, delivering artworks that matched the client’s needs in terms of style, quality and budget.
“A sculptural focal point in a foyer, building entrance, courtyard or boardroom can really help communicate some of the symbolic and higher values of an organisation. Artworks can also add beauty and meaning to the daily lives of those who pass it and serve to reiterate the style and branding of a company and its values,” says ARTSCAPE Co-Director Rebecca Townsend
Sydney based artist Jade Oakley produced Ember a delicate mobile sculpture made from galvanised wire and hand painted silk “leaves” which will be installed in the Resort’s Festiva Restaurant. Jade has been developing her craft for the past 10 years, mastering the mechanics and compositional perfection of Alexander Calder, the great 20th Century artist and inventor of the mobile.
“Kinetic art is dynamic, capturing the eye and gently animating a public space in a way in which a static sculpture simply cannot. The mobile forms of Jade’s work are in constant play, dancing to air movement and responding to changing light and environmental condition,” Says Merran Morrison, ARTSCAPE Co-Director
Brazilian born artist Aseem Pereira produced one of his largest commissions to date for the project from his studio in the Australian coastal town of Byron Bay. His work consists of two 3m x 1m hand woven glass wall sculptures produced on a copper loom. The finished artworks will flank the walls of the main lobby and be back-lit with LED strip lighting.
“There is certain madness to the commitment required by an artist to produce this kind of artwork within a narrow timeframe,” explains Rebecca Townsend, “Committed to staying on top of the very tight schedule, Aseem found himself on Byron Bay’s Lighthouse walk at 1am one morning, wondering why the sun wasn’t coming up!”
Aseem’s work draws on the Brazilian tradition of basket weaving and is incredibly labour intensive. He estimates the Galaxy commission has taken him over 500 hours, contains around 40,000 hand cut glass elements with 60% sourced from recycled bottles. The intensive making process and the choice of materials in Pereira’s art practice carve out the beginnings of a dialogue with the viewer. His obsession to create objects from the global scrap heap contains references of renewed meaning, spiritual devotion and conceptual determination.
Dominique Sutton was commissioned to create two large spherical sculptures in stainless steel for the Resort’s prestige shopping precinct. Dominique is well known for her winning artwork installation Melt at artsCape Biennial 2010 and her series of monumental steel figures installed on Centrepoint Tower for Sydney’s 2000 Olympic Games.
Dominique relocated from Sydney with her family to Byron Bay in Northern NSW in 2010 and for this project collaborated with a local steel fabricator to deliver the artworks within the tight timeframe. The larger of the two pieces, measuring 3m in height, has been designed to be walked through. Both works are made from rolled stainless steel tubes, configured into abstract leaf forms and finally highly polished to produce a mirror like surface.
“I derive my inspiration from form, light and movement. Fluidity is very important in my work as my materials; steel, glass and bronze are often inflexible. My public work has to relate to the space for which it is created and for the people who inhabit that space. My work is about creating an uplifting experience, be it through static or interactive sculpture.” Says Dominique.