Ian Marr's Mintaro slate sculptural piece 'A literary map of the Molonglo' has been installed at the National Arboretum Canberra.
This 2016 work charts two vital aspects of the Canberra region: the Molonglo River, at the heart of the city of Canberra where it was dammed to form Lake Burley Griffin, and the writers and artists who made their lives here and created the intellectual and cultural landscape of the city and surrounds.
Writers’ names include poets Geoff Page, David Campbell, Rosemary Dobson, A D Hope and Les Murray (who lived in Downer as a young man). Artists’ names include (Elioth) Gruner, (William) Lister Lister and (Rosalie) Gascoigne, all known for their representations of the Canberra landscape. Other names include Café Neruda (well known for poetry readings) and Brindabella Press, a private press that published poetry and literary fiction, particularly that from the region.
The sculpture now lays within a grassy hillside beside the Pin Oak forest, a picturesque location overlooking the Gallery of Gardens and Events Terrace, with views stretching across the Canberra landscape to which the sculpture refers.
Slate slab, 30.0 (h) x 380.0 (w) x 55.00 [d] cm
This sculpture joins multiple others within the expanding Arboretum Forest Sculpture Gallery.
You can visit this sculpture now at the National Arboretum Canberra via the southern end of the Gallery of Gardens next to forest 41. To view the Arboretum Map, click HERE.