The City of Greater Bendigo partnered with Villawood Properties to commission an ambitious public artwork to adorn the entire length of an inner-city Bendigo laneway. Rowena Martinich and Geoffrey Carran were selected for this project because of their reputation in transforming people’s experience of space; turning otherwise nondescript building facades into luscious colour-scapes, and providing the public audience with a connection to their wider environment, referencing nature and celebrating contemporary art’s role in transforming the mundane into the extraordinary. This presented a perfect opportunity for Rowena to explore how her mark making techniques and gestures can manipulate the sense of flow, movement and energy in visually transporting people through a space. Also how Rowena’s use of colour can alter peoples’ engagement along the way. Geoffrey researched local species and birds that were of importance to Villawood Properties, as developers of property across Australia. Of particular interest to the client were water birds, as an integral part of their developments is the rehabilitation of wetlands and the creation of sustainable parkland environments. Bendigo is a regional city that is renowned for its strong emphasis on contemporary art, and we are glad to now be part of this story.
