Art City is a guide commissioned by the City of Perth and other organisation to introduce visitors to Perth’s public art. This art conveys Perth’s cultural heritage and is created to enrich visitors understanding of life in Perth as they walk around and explore the beautiful surroundings.
The walk explores many forms of art; the following is just a small taste of the some of the interesting pieces that can be discovered on the Art City Walk.
State Images Mosaics
Location: Swan Bell Tower, Barrack Square.
Artists: Community Groups with Artists Simon Gevers and Tania Ferrier.
Artists used over 60,000 tiles to create mosaic artworks that represent each region’s culture, community and lifestyle at the turn of the millennium.
Bronze Swans
Location: Swan Bell Tower, Barrack Square.
Artists: Sue Flavell & Gina Moore.
The bronze swans represent a natural feature of the Swan River. Text engraved on the surface of each swan are not intended to be easily read, but unravelled.
Kangaroos
Location: Stirling Gardens, St George’s Terrace.
Artists: Joan Walsh-Smith & Charles Smith.
This art is a realistic interpretation of a group of life size kangaroos bounding along St George's Terrace, led by the large dominant male.
The Greenway
Location: Corner of Claisebrook Road & Royal Street, East Perth.
Artists: Nola Farman in collaboration with Tract WA Pty Ltd.
The Greenway is a series of artwork that represent the chain of wetlands, which ran from the river westwards to the sea. The artwork exhibits representation of some of the locally extinct flora and fauna and the power of water to sculpt the landscape.
Regeneration
Location: Victoria Gardens, East Perth.
Artist: Joanna Lefroy Capelle.
This artwork is a 14 metre relief mural, providing a visual history of Claisebrook. The mural tells a story of the rising and falling fortunes of East Perth and traces its origins from the Bibbullmun nation to the arrival of Europeans, industrial and horticultural growth, the phase of dormancy, and finally urban renewal in the 1990s.
The Charnock Woman
Location: Victoria Gardens, East Perth
Artists: Miv Egan, Sandra Hill & Jenny Dawson.
This 25 metre mosaic tells the Bibbullmun Dreamtime story of the evil Charnock Woman.
Four magpie totems in flight symbolise the spirit people who turned into magpies to attack the evil Charnock woman who used her long hair to trap children. During the battle it is believed the Charnock woman was flung into the sky and formed the Milky Way.
Sea Queen
Location: Claisebrook Cove, East Perth.
Artist: Tony Jones, assisted by Matt Dickmann.
This piece of art was created to reflect the artist’s childhood, when learning to sail, swim and fish in the Swan River. A figure holding a model yacht stands in the water. Nearby is an old repainted fishing boat “moored” against a dock at the water’s edge representing another aspect of river life.
For more information about Perth’s Public Art, please contact: 08 9461 3403.
