Six monumental rock columns entwined with native flora will reach skywards in Federation Court. Informed by Federation Court’s bluestone architecture and its former history as an outdoor sculpture garden, ‘Rock Melt’ is a major new commission by artist Jamie North.
Constructed from recycled slag (a by-product of smelting iron ore) and concrete, ‘Rock Melt’ consists of a group of columns of ranging height that stand up to 5 metres tall, dwarfing the viewer as they consider each towering form. Endemic flora (local plants) play a key role in North’s practice and the artist has sourced a Melbourne native vine: the ‘pandorea pandorana’, known colloquially as Wonga Wonga.
NGV International
27 March to 13 July, 2015
Melbourne
The Inconstant Ones (detail), 2014, cement, marble waste, limestone, steel slag, coal ash, plastic fibre, tree fern slab, various Australian native plants, 223 x 26 x 26cm; 191 x 26 x 26cm
Photograph: Ashley Barber
Courtesy the artist, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney