We are excited to announce the Arboretums' new Public Art Commission Drawing Breath.
This sculpture by Hannah Quinlivan was commissioned to celebrate the National Arboretums' 10th anniversary since opening to public in 2013 and will be the newest addition to the Forest Sculpture Gallery, which continues to grow along with the forests.
The commission was publicly announced this morning 17 October 2023 by Scott Saddler AM Executive Branch Manager, National Arboretum Canberra and University of Canberra Stromlo Forest Park. Making a bold welcome at the entrance to the Arboretum, this impressive work will stand at a striking 15 meters long and 5 meters high. A maquette of the design was displayed by the Ginkgo Dam where the sculpture will be situated, giving a small scale glimpse into what the final work will look like.
Quinlivan states:
A few years ago, I found myself digging in the soil by the Murrumbidgee River, just north of Canberra. Dealing with the news of my mother’s terminal cancer, I set about planting two and a half thousand trees. Each sapling served as more than a marker of my grief — they embodied a determination to reconstruct a future amid cycles of life and death. I was shaping the world not just for me, but for my children and grandchildren—turning the soil to find solace and purpose amid loss. Since that time I have become a planter. Each death and each birth is marked by new saplings placed within the earth’s embrace.
Drawing Breath is a sculptural installation that reflects on transformation and reconstruction. It will be situated in the dam at the heart of the National Arboretum in Canberra, a site that itself rose from the devastation of the Canberra bushfires. Just as new life took root in the ashes, this artwork symbolises the beauty that can emerge from devastation, nurturing hope for the future.
Drawing Breath stands as a reminder that we must do more than remember or reflect — we must work to build a more beautiful future together.
This 'sculptural drawing abstracts and interprets the Arboretum space, and it's history and future'. The organic structure of the piece will evoke contour lines of the Arboretum landscape through three sculptural elements that will float just above the water's surface. The twisting cellular plant like forms explore 'the thematic cycles of inhalation and exhalation, human breath and plant photosynthesis.'
Human qualities are embedded in the work via the hand textured, shaped and welded flat aluminium. It will then be coated in a glossy white finish that will be used throughout the whole composition for a cohesive look that focuses on the curves and undulations manipulated into the material. The sculpture will be installed in the Ginkgo dam, giving beautiful light interactions with the white glossy finish reflecting off the waters' surface and will be illuminated at night.
With a unanimous decision from the Forest Sculpture Gallery advisory committee, artist Hannah Quinlivan was successful in securing the commission in a competitive group of 5 strong submissions which were narrowed down from an initial group of 49 expressions of interest.
This sculpture will be realised by Quinlivan with the assistance of Creative Road and is anticipated to be installed in 2025.
This commission was made possible through the generous donations from the National Arboretum Canberra's 2022 Ambassador program and Forest Sculpture Gallery donors and we wish to thank all who have been involved in the process thus far.