Commonwealth Games Aquatic Sculptures – Eels 2006

Mothers Art Productions

Registration number

1517306

Artist/maker

Mothers Art Productions

Title

Commonwealth Games Aquatic Sculptures – Eels

Production date

2006

Medium

painted steel

Dimensions (H x W x D)

2 sculptures, 620 cm long x 240 cm high x (up to) 80 cm deep

Credit line

City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection

Keywords

2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Aquatic Sculptures, Eels, 2006, Yarra River, Mothers Art Productions, Melbourne

Summary

Location: Kensington Community Recreation Centre, cnr Kensington Road and Altona Street A series of 71 large artworks depicting fish was created for the opening ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Each representing a nation of the Commonwealth, the fish sculptures were sited along the centre of the Yarra River, where they remained for the duration of the Games. They were such a hit with the public that after the Games the sculptures were distributed to local governments and other not-for-profit bodies throughout Victoria. In early 2008, this component of the series was brought back into public life with its relocation to the Kensington Community Recreation Centre; here the two eels that comprise the work serve as mascots for the junior swimming squads. The four-metre eels are modelled on the Southern Shortfin Eel (Anguilla australis), a species native to the Yarra River so of special relevance to Melbourne. Originally the works formed the two sides of a single work.