Carriageworks announce New Public Artwork commissioned for South Eveleigh

Carriageworks and Mirvac today announced Sydney-based visual artist Nell, working together with design collective Cave Urban, has been commissioned to create a new public artwork at South Eveleigh, previously known as Australian Technology Park.  

Eveleigh Tree House will consist of a series of interconnected pods created out of hundreds of individually forged steel gum leaves. The tree house pods will be nestled amongst the existing gum tress at Eveleigh Green located within South Eveleigh, a 14-hectare multi-use precinct being developed by Mirvac.

Eveleigh Tree House is part of an ongoing, broader public art program at South Eveleigh facilitated by Mirvac and its consortium partners AMP Capital and Sunsuper. The program has been curated by Carriageworks and will include sculptural and botanical interventions, landmarks and meeting places at South Eveleigh created by a number of local artists. 

Artist Nell was inspired by the history and character of the nearby Eveleigh Locomotive precinct and wanted to pay homage to the Gadigal land on which the site stands. The work also embodies a personal connection to the site for the artist, whose great-grandfather worked as a boilermaker at Eveleigh from 1931-1952. 

“The Tree House will capture the essence of what we as adults remember tree houses to be -a place of imagination, observation and retreat from the world,” explained Nel 

Carriageworks Director of Programs and the curator of the South Eveleigh Public Art Strategy, Daniel Mudie Cunningham said: “‘Nell and Cave Urban’s Tree House provides a new destination and place of contemplation on Eveleigh Green that references the history and character of the Eveleigh railway area in its design and material.” 

A series of public workshops are being held on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th December inviting participants to help forge – and stamp their initials on the back of – individual steel gum leaves that will be added to the bodies of the Tree House. 

“Mirvac is committed to delivering activated and engaging public spaces for local residents and the wider Sydney community to enjoy at South Eveleigh. Art at the site will play a crucial role in this, sparking conversations, imagination and genuine connections,” said Mirvac Project Director, William Walker.

 “The range of functional and symbolic projects were selected by a panel of stakeholders from our partners on the site and the local area, including artists, elders and representatives from Redfern, Eveleigh and Waterloo. The works have been chosen to reflect the past, present and the future of this growing and diverse community.”

Carriageworks and Mirvac have sought consultation from the Aboriginal Land Council and Indigenous artists Hetti Perkins and Jonathan Jones have advised on all public art projects for the precinct.

Nell has conceived a second public art work for the precinct, Happy Rain, which takes the form of a large-scale smiling cloud wall work created from LED lighting attached to the exterior of a high-rise building. 

Nell explained: “This simple and universally recognisable imagery invites viewers to reflect on the relationship between weather, environment and mood, as well as the constancy of the natural world within and around our built environments. They reference that which has been eternal to this place – the weather and natural environment, the continuous elements that link Eveleigh of the future with the land of its past.” 

The two public art works are scheduled to be installed in 2019. Further announcements of artists commissioned to create work for the precinct will be announced in the new year.

Plans for the precinct will include a wider public art program, with additional site-specific public works to be announced in 2019.