A History Apparatus – Vessel Craft & Beacon 1993

REYNOLDS, Chris

Registration number

1088167

Artist/maker

REYNOLDS, Chris

Title

A History Apparatus – Vessel Craft & Beacon

Production date

1993

Medium

steel, fibreglass, bitumen, concrete, bluestone

Dimensions (H x W x D)

450 x 2400 x 300 cm

Inscriptions

A HISTORY APPARATUS / VESSEL, CRAFT AND BEACON / CHRIS REYNOLDS / PRESENTED AS A GIFT TO THE / CITY OF MELBOURNE ON THE 31 JULY 1995 / BY THE AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' UNION / AND AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA LTD /

Credit line

Presented as a gift to the City of Melbourne by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and Aerospace Technologies of Australia Ltd, 1993
City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection

Keywords

Chris Reynolds, A History Apparatus – Vessel, Craft and Beacon, Australian Metal Workers Union, Aerospace Technology of Australia, City of Melbourne, 1993

Summary

Location: Cnr Bourke and Russell Sts Chris Reynolds' A History Apparatus - Vessel, Craft and Beacon was conceived as part of the National Metal Industry Sculpture Project, an innovative sculpture-in-residency program that aimed to cultivate links between the artistic and technical endeavours and the greater community. The work comprises three main elements - the vessel, craft and beacon - and three lesser elements - the chord, snip-ring and trestle. The main components of this sprawling sculpture, 24 metres in length, refer to the temporal concepts that anchor us in the world: the vessel represents the past, the craft represents the present and the beacon the future. A History Apparatus resulted from a collaborative effort between the artist and the Australian Metal Workers Union, Aerospace Technology of Australia and the City of Melbourne. Each of these organisations has an illustrious past but is forging a new future. While the work gives a nod to these organisations' histories, it also comments on the continuity of time and how we all construct our histories, presents and futures. Unveiled 31 July 1995 The sculpture sits on the site of Melbourne's first underground public toilet, opened in 1902, which is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.