The power of art

Occasionally I come across a topic which is too good not to write about, but which has little or no connection to the Barwon River. I recently came across another such subject - or so I thought, however as often happens, I scratched the surface a little and lo and behold, a connection to the Barwon appeared before my eyes.
The subject in question is the decommissioned Geelong B Power Station, situated in North Geelong. The plant was officially opened on the 8th October, 1954 by the State Electricity Commission (SEC) to supply the grid with an extra 30,000 kilowatt capacity. In its day, it was the largest steam-driven power plant in the state outside of Yallourn. It was constructed under contract for the SEC from a package purchased from the USA and supplied electricity until its decommissioning in 1970. During its final few years of operation the plant operated only during periods of peak demand as the facilities in the Latrobe Valley were more economical to run.

An aerial view of Geelong Power Station B, image held by Museum Victoria

From 1970 until recently, the building sat derelict. Stripped of its fittings and frequented by vandals and drug-users, the building appeared on Internet lists of abandoned buildings known as "abandos". Then, in late 2014 things began to change. The debris was cleaned up and under the auspices of Ian Ballis who now leases the site an astounding new art project began to emerge.


Curator Ian Ballis making some alterations

The Incredible Hulk...a work in progress...

With Ballis curating the venture, renowned street artist Rone was invited to leave his mark on the walls of the old power station whilst other well known artists such as Duke and Ed Bechervise (aka Unwell Bunny) are amongst several hundred to have contributed so far to the creation of this unique art space.

Jane Doe, painted by Rone

So quickly has word spread, that artists from as far afield as Korea, Japan, Poland and - if the accents I heard during one visit are anything to go by - France as well.

Add caption

Nor is it just the big names who are painting here either. The walls boast the efforts of local artists of all ages. I saw one piece painted by a four year old girl and read that a 91 year old lady has also contributed.


Marilyn Monroe as painted by local artist Jessie Blackney

And the artists too are reaping the benefits of the opportunity to be a part of the project with commissioned work arising from displays at the Powerhouse topping $250,000.
The artwork takes many forms, from the more traditional graffiti inspired styles


Piece by Cax One

to some often quite vivid, realistic pieces such as those below.


Nymph by Mark Taylor of CLAP Meataxe Design



Some pieces aim to send a message



Making a local statement

whilst others take on a more fantasy-driven approach

Piece by Dest

Sugar skull

Buttface Grace

Nor is all the art on the walls. In addition to the murals there are individual canvasses and other pieces such as a car, a caravan and a number of mannequins which are being treated in a variety of fashions.

3D doodle art

Cyborgs - a vision of the future?

Some artists like to poke a little fun, or just make the most of an opportunity...


Sushi cat, a combined effort from Melbourne's wewf crew

It's a sign!

But the connection of all this to the Barwon? Well, whilst I'd like to say there was a large mural of the river, somewhere on a wall, at this stage there is not. The connection I discovered dated back to the days when the Powerhouse was Geelong Power Station B which ran on coal sourced from a local coalmine and yes, you guessed it, that coalmine known amongst other names as Wensley Brae, was located on Coalmine Creek - a tributary of the Barwon River.
But that is a story for another post...


Putting it in perspective

River art!

In many places graffiti can be a problem, however in some cases it can be an interesting form of public art and one which I mentioned a while back in a previous post. Over the last week or so, I have noticed several new pieces around Geelong and a couple of them have even been on the Barwon.


Informal bridge art on the Barwon near Queen's Park

The above piece which I spotted this afternoon on a stroll along the river near Queen's Park, would be visible from the river and possibly the opposite bank. It reminded me that for the last week or so I had been noticing another picture which had appeared rather prominently under the James Harrison Bridge and which was quite detailed. So of course, I dashed off to take some photos of that too.

James Harrison Bridge art

I am not sure if this piece is officially sanctioned, however it is certainly lending some colour to the otherwise rather grey surrounds of the bridge. It would be interesting to know who the artist was and whether any more additions are planned.


The James Harrison Bridge

Finally, whilst it is not on the Barwon, the most impressive piece would seem to be the wall of the toilet block at St Helen's on Corio Bay. On such a scale, I assume it has been made to order, however once again I do not know who the artist(s) is/are.


At St Helen's, Corio Bay

It has occurred to me several times over the last few years that there are several large, blank walls that could use a similar treatment. Enough such pieces in the right places and perhaps a walking/riding art trail might be developed. Who knows!

Loss of face

Representing the human face in pictorial form has long held a fascination for mankind and some of the oldest depictions of faces can be found in Australia's indigenous art. Examples have been found which are believed to be tens of thousands of years old. I can find next to nothing about any remnant Wathaurong art, so am not able to say whether depiction of human faces was part of their historical artistic culture - or for that matter whether there is any pre-European art associated with the Barwon. (If anyone is able to enlighten me, I would be interested to learn. And for that matter, I have also wondered if there is a creation story associated with our Barwon as there is for the northern river of the same name.)

I have noticed over the last few years however, that modern graffiti and carvings often do involve the depiction of a human - or at least a humanoid - face and that quite a few examples can be found along the Barwon (and in one case, the Moorabool River).


The aliens have landed?


I found the above carving in a eucalypt on the Moorabool near Batesford whilst the two below are "decorating" bridge pylons at Merrawarp Road near Ceres.

 

Graffiti on the Merrawarp Road Bridge

Graffiti on the Merrawarp Road Bridge



From memory, this rather grumpy-looking face was on a tree not far from the old Albion Woollen Mills in Geelong.

Tree graffiti beside the Barwon

 

On the other hand, there are also some things in nature which resemble faces - or parts there of. Some trees when they lose branches form a scar which resembles an eye. As the tree matures, this results in in multiple "eyes" on the tree's trunk. The wattle below gave me the idea for this post some time ago.

An "eye" in a wattle tree at Fyansford

And then there are just those odd coincidences of nature:

Found this guy in a sawn off stump in the Brisbane Ranges near Anakie Gorge

The scream? A rock at Anakie Gorge

Then finally, on Saturday afternoon we headed over to Balyang Sanctuary for a short run with the boys and to snap a photo of the bright yellow smiley face with the tag "smile minotomy" which has adorned one of the pylons of Princes Bridge for months (if not years). This was a face which I was sure I'd photographed before but search as I might, I couldn't find the shot. No problem, I would just take a new one...
...but of course, after all that time and just when I wanted a photo, the graffiti police had shown up and the yellow smiley was now a dark grey blob on a light grey, concrete pylon. Typical! I'm not a huge fan of graffiti art and it is by its nature transitory...but surely after all those months....