Float (2014)

Mark Ashby , Kim Cooper

6011 No. 1 Road

Area: Thompson
Location: On the south west side of Westminster Hwy at the intersection of No. 1 and Westminster.

Materials: Painted steel, welded chain

Program: Private
Ownership: Civic
Sponsored By: Centro Properties Group

Description of Work

A City grows in population and cultural sophistication in the inexorable context of change. Embraced by the flow, we are unconscious of the dynamics of our place until we encounter something fixed against which to measure our movement.

Float is a sculptural arrangement of hollow balls supported on solid posts of welded, heavy-gauge chain. Accustomed as we are to the use of chain in the maritime environment, the piece will create the illusion of buoyancy causing the balls to appear to float.

The piece is deliberately open-ended, blending benign and sinister metaphors, celestial and microscopic scales, harsh environmental predictions and nostalgic childhood pass-times.

Artist Statement

Float is a creative collaboration of Mark Ashby and Kim Cooper. Public Art commissions are provide the opportunity to create playful experiences for viewers and to enhance their relationship with place. Envisioned as an agent in the urban realm, Float acts in dialogue with the street trees and lamp standards. Constructed from durable materials, Float will provide infrastructure for ad-hoc children's games, a leaning post or a secure bicycle rack of the adjacent businesses.

Approaching public art through the lens of design, each project begins with an investigation of the specificity of context resulting in site-specific responses that consider the work in relation to both architectural space and the behaviour of viewer. Through this approach, Float is designed to engage both drivers and pedestrians of all ages with an intervention that responds in scale and detail to the context of the site.

As designers first, our work is unfettered from the constraints of specific media, drawing instead on the full palette of industrial and architectural materials and fabrication methods. Working closely with fabrications, we challenge them to stretch the boundaries of their practice as we stretch ours, striving to create unique and memorable experiences.