MILNE AND STONEHOUSE

Project Name: Tread - Advanx

Materials: Aluminium . Zinc . LED lighting

Dimensions: Up to 4000mm H

Location: Rushcutters Bay, Sydney

Description: As part of our showcase on public art projects, we are privileged to have worked with renowned Sydney art duo Susan Milne and Greg Stonehouse on a number of projects. Most recently Axolotl again had the opportunity to work with Milne & Stonehouse on a site specific installation commissioned for the new Advanx Apartments in Rushcutters Bay. The site of the development was previously the Advanx tyre factory which provided inspiration for the sculptures. Manufactured in aluminium, the structures which range up to 4 metres in height, are bonded with Axolotl Zinc. The lasercut fragments of tyre treads are paralleled by plant fossil prints which Axolotl have etched onto each of the multi faceted elements. As interpreted by Milne and Stonehouse, the piece explores the layered print of plant life with the imprint of humans.

The imprint of tyre treads upon the earth echoes the stratified fossil prints of ancient plants and leaves compressed into stone and shale.  While the tyre tracks reveal the weight of travel and an impatience with speed, the leaf patterns stretch skeletally to trap the light and water.

The artwork is made up of a number of elements spatially separated and yet geometrically interlocked. A patterned perforation on the sides of each element renders them as transparent and hollow. The imagery of these patterns explores the common threads of the treads, the plant veins and water marks.

As a starting point for sculptural forms, the tread patterns were individually sampled, scaled and reconfigured using metal. The links between apparently disparate layers of water, leaf and tyre are reinforced by their repeated geometry and the rhythm of their patterns cut from sheet metal.