Louisa Dawson - Unravel
Louisa Dawson - Unravel
October 2009 – January 2010
Unravel by Louisa Dawson was commissioned as the first project in the Taylor Square Temporary Art Program. Dawson’s sculpture was a friendly comment on the complex and very relevant issue of urban planning in a dense metropolitan environment.
As the first work in the new public art program Unravel expressed the history and challenges of the site.
While an apparently simple object, Unravel unsettled the mind and challenged the viewer. The work confronted many of the barriers in achieving the City of Sydney’s vision to increase walking and cycling in the city.
Effectively a large roll of asphalt that looked like it was unravelling, the sculpture celebrated the history of the city as it rolled out a section of road where Bourke Street once ran.
Intended as a gentle provocation the work provided an opportunity for discussion about Taylor Square’s uses and functions, challenging the dominance of urban infrastructure where the asphalt has come to represent the ‘skin of the City’.
About the Artist
Louisa Dawson is a Sydney-based sculptor working primarily in large-scale public works. Since 2001 she has created sculptures that subvert the purpose of mundane and everyday objects in order to present a gentle socio-political critique.
Some of Louisa’s works have been short-listed for the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award (2004, 2005 and 2007) and exhibited in Victoria. She has also shown in Sculpture by the Sea (2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008). In 2007 she was the recipient of the RIPE Award, (Art and Australia and the ANZ Bank) and was awarded an Australia Council studio residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York.
Last Updated: Wednesday 13 October, 2010
