The Karingal Town Square Art Trail is a collection of permanent mural artworks, installations, sculptures and furniture created by a handful of Australia’s most acclaimed multi-disciplinary artists.
Six artists have been selected to respond to the local environment and culture to create meaningful artworks that will guide you from the Centre to the new Town Square.
The contrast of bright and subdued hues travel throughout space, bringing land and sea, play and intrigue together in a trail of discovery.
Meet the artists:
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Benja Harney
Title: Local Flowers for the Local People Benja Harney is a paper engineer. Working both in Australia and internationally, he is renowned as a pioneer in his field. As a professional creative, artist and educator, over the last 12 years Harney has led his Sydney-based studio, Studio Paperform, to develop a body of work that pushes the possibilities of the paper medium. “ I think there is a really exciting opportunity here to combine local foliage/floral iconography and recycled materials from the community to tell a really strong and layered story of place for Karingal Hub.” |
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Andrew Dennis
Title: Botanical tangle No. 3 Description: The intention was to use several intersecting botanical forms and send them towards the direction of the building entrance in order to give a sense of movement and direction to the corridor. The method behind the construction of the painting involves some level of spontaneity that responds to the space and allows for the design to move freely and with a sense of expansiveness. This is essentially how I make these murals, to have an immediacy and directness that implies a sense of purposeful engagement beyond the act of painting. Studio Dennis is the collective name for a practice which covers multiple outputs such as mural art, painting, design, textiles and street graphics. Drawing from a diverse range of influences including 20th century art, low-brow comics, skateboard culture and points in-between, Studio Dennis has gone on to develop a unique visual language. Andrew Dennis’ commission for this project will be an organic, fluid and floral focus mural. |
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Claire Foxton
Title: Native treasures Site 1 – Abstract bursts of colour, form and gestural marks spill from the walls and onto nearby seating and planters. The work connects the external arts trail works to the centre’s interior, forming a playful meeting place for shoppers to rest and engage with their surroundings. Site 8 – This work showcases the abundance of colour and life that exists in the centre’s surrounding nature reserves and waterways. Local flora and fauna dance along the walkway among abstract shapes and colours derived from the coastal landscape. The native species featured include: Lemon-scented Sun Orchid, Matted Flax-lily, Spotted Pardalote, Coast Banksia, Frankston Spider Orchid, Coast Tea Tree, Common Brown Butterfly and Southern Pygmy Perch. Claire Foxton is an Australian artist and designer who is most known for her large body of public art found across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. With a distinctive mix of abstract and realistic techniques, Claire’s painted mural works explore a site specific narrative often concerned with the connectedness of people and place. For this project, Claire will be creating two bright and bold murals along with creating custom furniture fabric prints. |
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Kyle Hughes-Odgers
Title: Field notes Description: A contemporary look at icons, imagery and moments celebrating the location of the site. Kyle Hughes-Odgers is a multi-disciplinary Australian Visual Artist. His work is inspired by nature, the built environment, human behaviour, and how these subjects intersect. Kyle expands on these ideas by exploring colour, abstraction, form, line, and incorporating narrative where relevant. “My concept for Karingal Hub aims to be a contemporary response that is informed by nature and local stories to create a sense of purpose and a feeling of arrival as a key location with its placement down at Town Square.” |
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Lauren Carney
Brisbane born freelance illustrator Lauren Carney is the epitome of a real life “cartoon girl.” Her most recent artworks celebrate relationships, the body within spaces, movement, shadows and colour. They harbour a sense of play and wonder, exploring imaginative worlds and quirky character scenarios within each. For this project Lauren will be creating two whimsical maps of Karingal Hub. |
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Tristan Kerr
Title: Town Square Description: The words Town Square are playfully connected through the artwork. The building facade becomes signage itself — welcoming people arriving to the precinct, where silhouettes of distinct native plants significant to the Mornington Peninsula make up the composition. Tristan Kerr is a Melbourne born artist and typographer. His work reflects on cultural diversity, consumerism and advertising, as he combines fragments of street signage, mark making, graffiti and abstraction through his works. Kerr’s works encourage people to stop, look and question their surroundings, considering other possibilities for what public space might constitute. |
The Karingal Town Square Art Trail presented by Karingal Hub, ISPT and Authority Creative.