Special Projects – Outdoor Monuments - Adelaide, South Australia
Artlab's program for the conservation of outdoor sculpture
and monuments continues to grow.
The last twenty months has seen a significant expansion
in activities for Joanna Barr, Artlab's
specialist sculpture conservator, and
her colleagues.
Robbie Burns....
It started with the treatment of the poet laureate of
North Terrace, the famous Scotsman Robbie Burns and was
followed by the treatment of the sixties Norma Redpath
fountain on King Edward Terrace, Canberra for the National
Capital Planning Authority.
The treatment of Robbie Burns is part of a major initiative
being undertaken by the Adelaide City Council to preserve
the City's outstanding collection of public monuments.
 
‘The restoration of the 88 year old Angas Memorial involved
cleaning the white and green marble surfaces to remove
polluting grime and algae. The bronze surfaces, which
had become badly disfigured, were also treated. Finally
a new copper sheet roof was installed over the top of
the white marble edifice to replace the existing roof
which was leaking and beyond repair.'
After the Memorial Garden we shifted our team
on to Elder Park to restore the evocative memorial to
Fireman Gardner who perished fighting a blaze on Rundle
Street on Christmas Eve 1886.
The memorial is a small, beautifully crafted marble canopy
and a cast iron drinking fountain created by Frederick
Herring. Adelaide citizens funded it through subscription
in recognition of Gardner's sacrifice.
Artlab's program of work for the Adelaide City Council,
its interstate projects and ongoing services for the Art
Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum,
State Library and History Trust have created an enormous
experiential base for the organisation and its enthusiastic
young team of conservators. ‘This achieves two outcomes' says
Artlab Director, Ian Cook – ‘the first is support for
Adelaide as a centre of heritage excellence, a heritage
destination for tourists, education and employment, and
the second, the strengthening of Artlab's credentials
as a major conservation provider in Australia as we plan
for the expansion of our services internationally.'
|
