Alice Springs Public Art
Yellow Rabbit, 2017 © Peter McLisky
This street sculpture is located outside at the entrance to the Alice Springs Supreme Court building (opened in 2017). It was a controversial sculpture for many people, considering the number of local talented artist that call Central Australia home.
Michael Sitzler, who owns the company Sitzler Brothers that built the court building, was granted control over the public space in front of it by the Alice Springs Town Council. The sculpture was a parting gift to the town by him.
A Melbourne based artist, Peter Mclisky went to art school in his native New Zealand in the late 1960s during a period of amazing pop art and graphic design, gaining international fame for his work in advertising.
Starting work in the advertising industry in 1969, he was to have fun roles in advertising and design studios from Auckland to London, Paris, Sydney, then settling in Melbourne in 1983 doing just about everything from graphic design to set design for theatre, graphics for television, model-making for architects, illustration for Vogue, and art direction for newspapers and magazines such as Outrage.
He made a reputation for highly graphic silhouettes. Most pieces are laser-cut from mild steel in a variety of finishes including rust, blackened rust, handpainted and powdercoat. His work encompassed not only huge cast of characters, but also jewellery, bonsai bookends, intricate cityscapes, dioramas and mini-versions of iconic mid-century chairs, including a new set of Australian designs commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria as part of the Mid-Century Modern exhibition (2014).
Peter McLisky passed away in 2017 and his website is now closed.
Footnote & References
- Alice Springs Supreme Court, Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, https://supremecourt.nt.gov.au/about/history/alice-springs-supreme-court
- Alice Springs yellow bunny sculpture angers locals, by Nick Hose, ABC News, 20 April 2017, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-20/yellow-bunny-public-art-causes-consternation-in-alice-springs/8459266
- They must be joking!, by Kieran Finnane, 13 April 2017, Alice Springs News, https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2017/04/13/they-must-be-joking/
- Peter McLisky Sculpture, www.petermclisky.com.au (studio web site now closed)
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