Architectural Fragment 1992

Summary

Location: cnr Swanston and La Trobe Sts

A triangular pyramid shape constructed of steel onto which Port Fairy bluestone slabs are affixed. The sculpture represents an enlarged fragment of the State Library buried in the pavement. The frieze has been partly inscribed with the word “Library”, gilded with gold leaf. The work is hollow and the weight supported by the existing foundation at the site, no anchoring of the work is present as it is inset into the surrounding bluestone pavers, cut to fit precisely around the work.

Sited outside the State Library of Victoria, the pyramidal, Port Fairy bluestone sculpture represents a fragment of the library emerging from the pavement as an archaeological artefact might. It has been conceived to engage with its environment, visually connecting to its surroundings through both form and material.