Reverie I

Reverie I is a large-scale public art work commissioned by the Brisbane City Council for permanent installation on the Gardens Point Road Plinth adjacent to QUT Gardens Point campus in Brisbane. The work forms part of the artist's ongoing exploration of the methodology of self-portraiture and amorphous form. In this work, sculpted curls of hair have been assembled according to contours of its constituent cast panels - their capacity to nest with one another determined the final form of the work. The resulting mass of curls resembles both an oversized wig, a withered mulberry and a leaden cloud to invoke notions of movement, reflection and temporality. From the didactic panel: "The curls of Reverie I are derived from 18th century sculptural portraiture. The twisting forms of the highly styled wig known as a periwig were abstracted and inventive, while also bestowing an air of intellectual authority. Curls also evoke two aspects of this particular site: the erratic movement of water associated with the complex tidal movements of Brisbane River, and a state of mental reflection relevant to both the nearby university grounds (where intellectual work takes place) and the riverside pathway (a site for daydreaming)."