Picture: CHRIS KIDD
PROJECT:
Harry Williscroft at the site of the installation,
which will remain in place for five weeks.
Wednesday, April 10, 2002--THE MERCURY
By Kane Young
THE eyes of the world
will be on the North-West Coast next March with Davenport confirmed as the
site of the Australia's contribution to the World Peace Art Initiative.
A huge art installation
representing the Southern Cross constellation will be built on farmland at
Lillico Beach near Devonport, adjacent to the well- known penguin and muttonbird
rookery.
The installation will
be part of a world-wide art project aimed at promoting global peace, with
other
installations to be built in Michigan USA, China, Norway and Italy.
The 250 metre-long Southern Cross will be the only installation in the Southern Hemisphere.
The large-scale installations, which are designed to be viewed from above, will be filmed from space and turned into a video and possible a book.
The World Peace Art project is the brainchild of Lou Rizzolo, a professor from the [Western Michigan University in Michigan, USA] University of Michigan.
Launceston's Harry
Williscroft is responsible for creating the Tasmanian installation, which
will
remain in place for about five weeks.
Mr. Williscroft's plan sees the stars of the Southern Cross represented by tall poles topped with high intensity solar-powered lights. The uppermost star will feature a viewing platform.
Stainless steel wires stretched between the poles will be adorned with more than 1000 banners made by school children from Tasmania and around the world.
Some of the banners will
later be transformed into a work of art for display at Parliament House in
Canberra.
Mr. Williscroft, who
has been working on the project for three years, said it was only now starting
to
gather momentum.
A self-described "very
amateur artist", Mr. Williscroft's love for art led to his involvement
in the project.
"It's a pretty exciting concept. It's a bit of fun," he said.
More information on the project can be found at www.worldpeaceart.org