Central Park

'Artists In Residence' is a is a temporary public art project which will occupy Central Park's heritage brewery yard buildings and brick stack, from early March 2011. Brook Andrew, Mikala Dwyer, Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro and Caroline Rothwell have been selected to create works specifically for this unusual and spectacularly visible site - just off Broadway, in the thick of Central Park's construction activity.

Each artist has been given free rein to create an artwork that will not only contribute to the creative character of the Chippendale community, but will also be inspired by what art advisor Michaelie Crawford describes as “the history, fluids, processes and intoxications of the site’s brewing past”. As each artist installs a new work, the previous works will remain – building to a playful collective ‘conversation’ between the four works.

'Artists In Residence' was conceived by Frasers' Central Park art advisors Jennifer Turpin and Michaelie Crawford, and is being curated by Anne Loxley.

First up: Brook Andrew, 'Local Memory'

Brook Andrew will be the first artist to temporararily take over the heritage Brewery Yard, with a monumental artwork comprising a series of portraits of people who worked in or were associated with the brewery’s history. Called 'Local Memory', 18 portraits - each almost 3 metres high - will fit neatly into the exposed grid of floors and walls on the northern exterior wall of the old Irving Street Brewery building.

Each portrait is illuminated by a neon frame which will fade on and off in a series of programmed sequences, illuminating different images at different times. The artwork will be an engagingly active kinetic light installation and have both a day time and night time presence.

'Local Memory' aims to celebrate people who have lived, worked and witnessed change on the brewery site between 1909 and 1998. These people are often the forgotten ones of socienties whose importance in work and lifestyle has little or no public memory, let alone the intimate social and cultural lives they lived and legacies within local families and brewery production," says Brook.

The portraits in the artwork concept image, above, are indicative only and Brook will now begin research into gathering images for the final artwork installation. If you have any suggestions for images to be featured on this gigantic portrait gallery, contact studio@fluidarts.com.au.

'Local Memory' will be installed in March 2011, and will remain in place - joined by works by other artists within the 'Artists In Residence' project - for at least a year or until restoration work begins on the Brewery Yard buildings.

For more of Brook's work, visit his web site.