JUMPING CASTLE WAR MEMORIAL
17th Biennale of Sydney, 2010
ARTIST Brook Andrew
ARTWORK TITLE Jumping Castle War Memorial
EXHIBITION 17th Biennale of Sydney
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR David Elliot
LOCATION Sydney, NSW, Australia
DESIGN UAP Studio, Alanah Walker
YEAR 2010
Leading contemporary Australian indigenous artist Brook Andrew created Jumping Castle War Memorial for the 17th Biennale of Sydney. The Biennale, themed "The Beauty of Distance, Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age", showcased contemporary Australian and international artwork at various sites around Sydney from May 12 - August 1, 2010. The inflatable jumping castle was situated on Cockatoo Island, a former imperial prison in Sydney’s Harbour.
UAP designers collaborated with Andrew to realise the artwork, undertaking form studies, developing concept sketches and 3D renders, and managing fabrication to ensure adherence to safety standards.
An evocative public artwork with historical and contemporary ramifications, the installation invited viewers aged 16+ to make a choice to jump or not after considering the meaning of their actions. The castle measured 7 metres along each side and was decorated with patterns based on Wiradjuri design. Eerie skull forms suspended inside the castle’s turrets commemorated forgotten victims of genocide. A 3 metre tall male figure stood at its centre with arms outstretched.
Andrew says, “The figure in Jumping Castle War Memorial was influenced by Chinese and Russian communist sculpture. It’s about the magnificence of the human body, and the way in which classical sculpture celebrates the body. The arms outstretched are a gesture, or an invitation to viewers to come and play. I always want my work to draw attention to the forgotten peoples of the world in a powerful way.”
This work has been made possible through the support of DETACHED, Hobart in partnership with the University of Queensland Art Museum and Urban Art Projects.
Brook Andrew
Artist
Brook Andrew is a conceptually driven artist who challenges cultural and historical perception, using installation, text and image to comment on local and global issues regarding race, consumerism and history. Apart from drawing inspiration from public media and found archival collections, Andrew travels nationally and internationally to work with communities and museum collections to comment and create new work reflecting objects, concepts and local thought.
Brook Andrew is represented by Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.
