Lanterns

The cultural forecourt on South Bank hosted a display of Chinese lanterns as part of the Brisbane Festival. I have no idea what is written on the lanterns but I can only hope it was all good! You can just make out the Wheel of Brisbane at the back.   

Night Lights

At night the sphere is illuminated by ever-changing LED lights with ethereal music emanating from somewhere within the stand. It's not hard to see why this has been such a popular art installation, albeit temporary. Personally I'd love to see it here permanently.

Mirror Ball

Not from outer-space, but a sphere covered with various sized mirrors. This is one of the most popular interactive art installations that was here for the Brisbane Festival. Sitting beside the Brisbane River and reflecting everything around it, it has been a massive draw-card. If you think it looks good now, you should see it at night!

War Of The Worlds?

"No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinized as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets. And yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us."

"War of the Worlds"  ~ H.G.Wells ~

(I'll show you more over the next few days and tell you what it is).

Earth Tones

These Aboriginal shields are displayed in the departure area of the Brisbane International Airport. I really like the tones which are so much a part of the Australian landscape.

Lothlorien

Anyone familiar with 'The Lord of The Rings' will know that Lothlorien is the fairest forest realm of the Elves. Mallorn trees grew there, and their leaves turned golden in the autumn. The golden leaves remained on the trees until spring, when they fell to cover the ground. As I wondered through the quiet paths in the Botanical Gardens I came across a series of small art pieces, notably these beautiful mirrored leaves set on stones under the trees, and I was certainly put in mind of this magical fictitious place.

"Ah! Like gold fall the leaves in the wind"

Lady Galadriel's Farewell song, Lord of The Rings

Web of Deceit

Today, another web that has been  strategically placed at the Botanical Gardens. I noticed that there were some toy spiders dotted around some of the other webs which would have appealed to any children visiting. Unfortunately I was the only person there, so I hope that there are more people able to visit and appreciate the fun art.

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Whilst wandering around the Botanical gardens at Mt Coot-tha last week I came across a display of webs strung throughout the trees. All I can say is that I'm pleased there aren't life-size spiders to go with them.

AH-CHOO!

Even though Winter is in it's swan song, it hasn't slowed down the number of people suffering from the flu, or those experiencing winter colds and coughs. Help is at hand with the Day/Night pharmacy and the tender administrations of an apothecary! I think that this mural in George Street might help to make them feel slightly uplifted.

High Wire

A left-over from Expo '88 is this unicyclist who spends his days sitting in the air looking over South Bank. This was one of the many artworks that was part of the 'Human Factor' and 'Streetscape' sculptures. Few now remain. Another one can be seen here Drovers

Shiny Lights

You might recall a post I made showing you the giant butterflies in the side of the newly renovated Wintergarden, in the Queen Street Mall Wintergarden. I was in the city recently and whilst walking past I noticed that it has an amazing lighting sequence that constantly changes, bringing something magical to the building. Anything with lights is a winner with me!

Wash Day Blues (TSB #2)

I've mentioned before that there is a scheme here in Brisbane where artists of any calibre are allowed to apply to decorate the traffic signal boxes that are dotted all over the place...in face anywhere  you see traffic lights. They are a wonderful source of 'street art' and certainly cheer up otherwise dull metal boxes. This box sits at the end of my road and with the current strong winds captures the essence of the day.

Drovers (2)

If you stopped by yesterday you would have seen three of these guys standing around in the city.  I'm not so sure they'd get away with boiling their billy on the pavement! Here they are in their full glory almost under the shadow of Brisbane City Hall.

Drovers

One of the greatest successes of the streetscape of World Expo '88, was the series of white sculptures, 'The Human Factor'. The Drovers' are five (only 3 shown here) of almost eighty figures in the series - that portrayed people in everyday situations - all frozen in time, capturing the essence of life in Australia.


Originally created in fibreglass, many of the much loved 'Human Factor' were purchased at the end of Expo '88, but not all exist today. In 2005 'The Drovers' were recreated to preserve the sculptures that continue to serve as a reminder to the people of Brisbane the contribution Expo '88 made to the growth of the city.

Roo..m For One!

Here's another one of the scrap metal kangaroo's that has taken up prime position on a bench. Is this Brisbane City's answer to singles dating, seeing as they have only left enough space for one person to while away the time?

Scrap-a-Roo

As some of you will know, I really enjoy different art forms, so I was very excited to see this kangaroo made out of scrap engine parts. It's such a simple idea, and very effective. It sits, with some others, just opposite the City Council offices. It was fun to watch the faces of people as they came across this small group. I'll show you another one tomorrow if you have time to stop by. Have a great week.

Wintergarden

If you enlarge the picture, you should be able to see more butterflies and possibly get some feeling of being in a distorted garden wonderland! I get the feeling that whoever designed this was on drugs...but I like it. This is the façade of the new development of the Wintergarden shopping centre in Queen Street Mall. 

Beware of.......

....low-flying giant butterflies! I'll show you what this is all about tomorrow.

Attitude!

I wonder what the artist was trying to say.

Hopping Away

"G'day mate. How's it going?"
"Not bad...but I'm tired just standing around here every day"
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"I'm going to take a short break tomorrow. They've got this airline here that's got one of us on the tail!"
"Oh you mean QANTAS...the Flying Kangaroo"
"Yep, that's the one."
"OK. Great idea. When you coming back?"
"Fly out first thing and I'll be back next week."
"That's great mate. Well, can't stand around here all day. You'd better hop to it!"
"OK mate. Catch ya next week."