Taiji was a tribute to the sport of Tai Chi as one of the major art martial arts of Taiwan. It sit’s 7 meters high and depicts an athlete in full pose.
“The stainless steel sculptures, tall and slim and glinting in the sunlight, are easily recognisable. There’s a fettler, a shunter and a fireman, a signalman, a gatekeeper and a flag lady and they have all been expertly crafted by artist Dominique Sutton, whose work was showcased during the Sydney Olympic Games. Three metres high, they look down onto a specially landscaped amphitheatre beside the railway station of the tiny, historic town of Werris Creek, 480 kilometres north-west of Sydney. The sculptures are an arresting part of The Australian Railway Memorial – A rail museum and a memorial to those who have died in the service of Australian railways.”
To celebrate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, AMP commissioned Sydney sculptor Dominique Sutton to design three figures representing the Olympic and Paralympic ideals. The three figures, depicting a gymnast, a Paralympic basketballer and a sprinter, were airlifted and installed atop the AMP Tower in July 1998, becoming a focal point of celebrations in the lead up to and during the Games.
Each sculpture weighs 3.5 tonnes and is an impressive 16 metres high three dimensional steel rendition of an elite athlete. The sprinter captured at the instant of maximum speed, it is an iconic image of movement. The Paraolymoic basketball about to shoot the winning goal and the Gymnast held in a graceful handstand.
The Sprinter has been relocated as the gateway piece to Sydney Olympic Park. AMP donated the other two sculptures — a gymnast and a Paralympic basketballer — to the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra.
Winner of ARTSCAPE 2010
Melt is a series of five boats, suspended in the trees, above the ground. This was a comment on the expected sea level rising due to global warming and the millions of people who would be displaced by the submersion of land.
For several years now I have used the boat as metaphor to express the human condition – Immigration, human physicality, loss. The symbol of the boat as both hope and fear and its relevance to our contemporary existence.
Originally based on a poem by Michael Chitwood. The black boats appear as coffins floating out to sea.
The Coffins BY MICHAEL CHITWOOD
Two days into the flood
they appear, moored against
a roof eave or bobbing caught
in the crowns of drowned trees.
Like fancy life boats
from an adventurer’s flag ship,
brass plating and grips,
walnut sheen, scroll work,
they slip through the understory
on this brief, bad river.
What have they discovered
and come back to account?
Or is this the beginning
of the marvelous voyage
and they plan never to return?
The horse holds a special place in most cultures and belief system. Seeing a horse in your dreams means your wishes will come true. Rust is the first in a series of five sculptures based on the horse. Made of corten steel and sitting three meters high they are designed to be part of the landscape and resonate with a deep, ancient energy.
Pegasus – the immortal winged horse, hoofed master of the ground and winged master of the air, a symbol of freedom, majesty, endurance and spirit. A blow from his hoof caused the stream of Hippocrene to spring from Mount Helicon and become the wellsourse of all creativity. Encompassing beauty and a sense of majesty, he is a guide for humankind beyond the physical world to the realm where the spirit can soar without limit.
I have always been fascinated by the symbology of the horse. It is a personal talisman of mine. Pegasus is part of a series of simple, abstracted, pared back forms. Three meters high and made from corten steel, its finish is patina’d to a rich mahogany to compliment the colors of the latests TRE project-Coppoerstone.
For several years now I have used the boat as metaphor to express the human condition – Immigration, human physicality, loss. The symbol of the boat as both hope and fear and its relevance to our contemporary existence. “Flotilla” was the second iteration of my installation MELT about global warming and the rising sea levels. This was part of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Denmark.
An iconic feature of the Sydney 2000 Olympics has become a new landmark beside the New M4 motorway at Homebush. Originally located at the top of the Centrepoint Tower in Sydney’s CBD to celebrate the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2000. “The famous 16-metre-high and 8.5 tonne Sprinter artwork which was a focal point of the Sydney games has been given a new lease of life, repositioned beside the New M4 Motorway near Homebush Bay Drive.
It has become a significant Sydney landmark in its new location, reminding thousands of people every day about our wonderful games and garnering a new generation of admirers.” The Sprinter is illuminated white at night, however in recognition of major events at Sydney Olympic Park the lights can change colours similar to other buildings and structure seen around the Sydney Olympic Park precinct.”
