Artwork brings a new energy to Knowles Place during DESIGN Canberra
Knowles Place has been transformed by an energetic new ‘supergraphic’ by artist Lymesmith. Commissioned as part of the DESIGN Canberra Festival, the artwork responds to the 2022 theme of ‘transformation’.
Lymesmith is an award-winning design practice creating unique colour concepts and artworks for the built environment. The practice drew on inspiration from the immediate landscape, various uses of the laneway and heritage aspects of Civic Square to develop the Knowles Place artwork. Adjacent to the Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Museum and Gallery, government buildings and Cultural Facilities Corporation, artist Sonia van de Haar said the artwork provides a directional pull to the cultural heart of the City Centre.
“I’ve used the technology and installation expertise of road marking patterns in a non-traditional way to activate the ground plane and help draw people into the square. The concept and the way I’ve generated the ideas for this is in response to the architecture of Civic Square itself,” Sonia said.
“The drawing, the grid, and the yellow lines and column are taken directly from the elevation drawings of the Legislative Assembly and the Canberra Museum and Gallery buildings with their gold columns and grid on the facade. I’ve used the proportions and the geometry of those buildings and tipped them onto the ground and skewed it, splayed out along the lane. Reusing the patterns already in the place to intensify the patterning of that place.”
This approach is masterful in its impact, creating a true sense of arrival as people make their way down the laneway to the Canberra Theatre Centre. The artwork has made the journey more explicit and engaging, building a sense of anticipation for locals and visitors and making them more aware that interesting things are happening in the area. In doing so, the artwork forges greater connections between people and place and in time, has the potential to alter the narrative of Knowles Place.
Reimagining this relatively underutilised space has been supported by the City Renewal Authority and the Cultural Facilities Corporation. With artwork conceptualised and executed by Lymesmith and Geoff Filmer at Graffik Paint.
So next time you’re in the area, take a walk down Knowles Place and discover this energetic and clever piece of art.
Photo credit: Sonia van de Haar
Photo credit: Sonia van de Haar
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.
