Picture: Stuart Wilson

UNIQUE PROJECT: Harry Williscroft of Launceston, looks over the area at Lillico Beach where he hopes to construct an artistic installation featuring the Southern Cross constellation for the World Peace Art Initiative next year.

THE the man describes himself as a amateur painter with an interest in art.

But at the moment Harry Williscroft is single-handedly directing Australia's sole contribution to the World Peace Art Initiative.

Mr. Williscroft has secured the cooperation of a landowning couple at Lillico Beach and has drawn up initial plans for the eye-catching installation, to be erected in April next year.

Once finished, it is understood the installation will be video taped from space.

Two weeks age he contacted the Devonport City Council and received positive feedback on the project from acting Mayor Peter Hollister.

The origins of the project developed three years ago when Mr. Williscroft established a friendship with a professor from [Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI USA] the University of Michigan in the United States, Lou Rizzolo.

"We started corresponding about this idea of his that artists are fairly peaceful people and that it would be nice to have some worldwide peace concept based around art or artists," Mr. Williscroft said yesterday.

"So Lou developed it further with some friends of his and contacted me and said would I like to do something in Australia on the same vein, some outdoor art installation."

"We were the first country in the world to put out our hand up for this with the United States and now it's grown all over the place.

The plan for Lillico Beach is a series of symbolic lights and banners.

"The concept I've come up with is a fairly gigantic replica of the Southern Cross constellation--mostly because it's our flag and every one in Australia knows where it is, including the indigenous people." he said.

"It will be posts set in the ground where the stars are and they'll have a light on top of them and between all these poles there will be cables strung out."

The idea is for children from all over the world to send banners 120cm by 40cm, decorated with their peace messages.

"There will probably be over 1000 cloth banners...the whole thing will look fairly mobile during the day and of course it will be totally visible at all times," Mr. Williscroft said.

The installation will be on show for about six weeks and mr. Williscroft said after it was dismantled the banners would be sent to an artist interstate who would work them into an art piece which would eventually end up at Parliament House in Canberra.

Mr. Williscroft said he was gaining a lot of support for the idea both in the Devonport community and on a larger international scale.

He is now in the process of getting the logistics of the project underway and will contact Tasmanian schools to offer them the opportunity to contribute a banner.