Big Feathers
Big Feathers is a sculpture in the Queen Street Mall which was commissioned by the Brisbane City Council in 1999. Located in the heart of the mall, near Jimmy's, it was created by Sydney-based artist Bronwyn Oliver. Made from aluminium, the sculpture consists of two large and intricately constructed aluminum feathers which are suspended on overhead wires.
The associated plaque details how the image of the feathers floating downwards connects the earth and sky. Like birds, people flock together to socialise, preen and display. Given that the Queen Street Mall is the premiere gathering place in the city, the associations of how both people and birds use their "plumage" is represented in this piece. As the plaque says "'Plumage' attracts attention, displays status and virility, beauty and availability, and indicates belonging to one group or another." Also, the feather brings an image of the natural world into the city centre. 
Bronwyn Oliver was born in 1959 and passed away in 2006. She has contributed in a very unique and significant way to visual culture in Australia, with a large body of public works over her 20 years of producing sculpture. I feel blessed that we in Brisbane were recipients of one of her works in the public domain, and that it has made it to such a prominent place in the mall. Again, I wonder how many people pass underneath each day, not knowing that a feather like touch is just above them!
Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.
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3 comments:
wow! That feather looks soooo real. Amazing.
Ditto on the WOW! You have a way of finding pieces of art that amaze. I am certain that Brisbane must have more sculptures than any other city out there... you post pictures that make me want to travel. Believe it or not his is a great accomplishment! Keep up the good work!
Whenever I walk under them I have a brief moment where I think they are going to fall and somehow manage to poke out my eyes.
But I still love them.
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