RUINS
19th Biennale of Sydney (2014)

Ruins was a site specific sculpture describing an imagined archaeological site - a formation of ruinous structures, fragmented walls and scattered stone arrangements. It was constructed by hand and in-situ over the course of a three month residency, utilising 30 tonnes of sandstone rubble repurposed from nearby excavations. Creating the illusion of a historical subject, Ruins belnded into the Island’s heritage architecture and abandoned film-sets, scarcely recognisable as an artwork distinct from its context. Situated against excavated sandstone cliffs, the work re-staged the act of labour undertaken on the site by convicts subjected to quarry the stone and build their own prisons. In contrast, the work points to the 18th Century tradition of garden follies inspired by the English picturesque style, in which fake ruins were constructed to enliven parks and promenades. These structures were experienced as trompe l’oeil artworks. Ruins sought to straddle these colonial reference points in the context of Cockatoo Island’s present function as a location for historic tourism to interrogate how this history is constructed.

19th Biennale of Sydney, 2014. Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, AU. Sandstone, concrete, cement, sand, turf, existing platform. 40.0m x 20.0m x 2.5m. biennaleofsydney.com.au/ruins