Awakening Desire #2 (2003) - Geoffrey Bartlett

Address: Wyndham Civic Centre,
45 Princes Highway,
Werribee
VIC 3030

Acquired by: Sponsorship of the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award

About the Artwork:

Awakening Desire #2 is part of a group of sculptures, engaged with a recurrent theme that was begun in 1996 with a work of the same title. The works in this group explore issues of sexuality, referring to the metaphor of a shell found along any seashore, a flower in any garden or a rock along any cliff face.

The investigation of this inferred sexuality is approached not only through the relationship of one form as it meets another, the rhythmical flow of shape, or even the intended precariousness of the upper element as it meets its tapered support but as much through surface. This surface derived from aeroplane manufacturing techniques, echoes the often imperfect symmetry of shells, and invites closer inspection. As with a Seurat painting, the surface entices the viewer to assess it so minutely that, for a short while, the wholeness of the work is lost to the abstraction of its detail. The skin beckons the sensation of touch.

*The description of the artwork is from the 2003 Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award catalogue

Materials: Bronze, Copper, Steel

For more information about the artist visit: geoffreybartlett.com

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians

Wyndham City Council recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first Peoples of Australia. We acknowledge the Bunurong and Wadawurrung Peoples as Traditional Owners of the lands on which Wyndham City operates. The Wadawurrung and Bunurong Peoples have and always will belong to the Werribee Yalook (river), creeks, stars, hills and red clay of this Country. We pay respect to their Ancestors and Elders who always have, and always will, care for Country and community today and for future generations.