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sculptural seat made in mosaic at a look-out in Brisbane
Overview | Highland Rest

Highland Rest is an integral part of the experience at a scenic lookout surrounded by classic Queenslander-style houses on Paddington’s Latrobe Terrace. The observation deck offers views of the Brisbane CBD and the city’s southern districts.

The work explores the act of reading and its conflation between the printed page and the 21st Century hand-held screen. It romanticises long summer days spent outstretched on the verandah daybed (with a few good books) while gazing out to the distant view, now with a smartphone in hand. The tartan cushion serves as a backrest for the reader and depicts the avenues and terraces of Paddington as a way of acknowledging SE Queensland’s First Nation people. Early Colonial settlers originally built roads over the pathways walked by the Turrbal and Jagera people.

This work also pays homage to Scottish-born explorer Thomas Petrie (1831-1910), who freely associated with the Aboriginal people, spoke their language, and participated in their daily activities.

Highland Rest was fabricated off-site in our studio on the far North Coast of New South Wales before installing in situ.

Thomas Petrie
Project
Highland Rest, 2016
Materials

Vitreous Glass Mosaic, Sandstone, Concrete

Client

Brisbane City Council

What We Did

Concept Design, Fabrication, Installation

An historic view of South Brisbane

South Brisbane – view from Dorchester Street camp (1850s) – courtesy Royal Historical Society of Queensland Library)

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