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An inspiration behind the idea of Mirrored History.

Source: https://www.yellowtrace.com.au/mesmerising-mirrors-art-architecture/

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It’s important to slow down sometimes and take a look around. Northshore can be the place to do this.

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The above link discusses the demographic and statistics of Northshore, which need to be taken into consideration for the creative concept. A large portion of Northshore’s demographic is made up of young, small families with high incomes. 

- Median age of 38

- Average children in the family is 1.7

- Median Household Weekly Income is $2,408

This is the current demographic of Eat Street and surrounding areas, however this can be broadened through the extension of Northshore through creative projects such as art installations. 

By introducing other attractions to Northshore, more people and families from surrounding areas will be encouraged to visit the area, broadening the demographic.

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CoDesign

The client mentioned collaborating with CoDesign during the furthered development at Northshore. In order for the art installation to fit with the space well, it would be best to discuss the intentions of CoDesign and collaborate with them.

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In a time where every waking moment has become the time in which we make our living, time becomes an economic resource that we can longer justify spending on ‘nothing'

Jenny Odell (How To Do Nothing)

A quote from Odell’s book which questions our views on use of time and how spending half an hour meditating isn’t seen to be as ‘productive’ as half an hour at a paid job. 

Mirrored History is an attempt at supporting this ideology and providing people with spaces in which they can slow down without feeling like they’re missing out on something. They're able to sit and feel at one with themselves and the earth, whilst truly doing nothing. 

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...a sort of dead-alive hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation

Robert Louis Stevenson 

Quote which discusses the traps we as a society can fall into when we’re so focussed on trying to live our most enjoyable life - whilst it may be passing us by without us realising. 

Mirrored History will be designed to prevent this way of thinking and enable people to slow down, take a deep breath, enjoy the area and live in the moment.

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“The Attention Economy”

The idea of a simple sculpture stands out because society is focused on constantly doing something and being preoccupied with activities. We believe if we aren’t doing activities that bring us joy, then we aren’t fulfilled. The goal of Mirrored History is to enable people to slow down and take in the world around them when they’re at Northshore. This is the intention of ‘attention holding architecture’.

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Art Concept - ‘A Mirrored History’

The art piece is to be a walk-through, mirrored sculpture which at certain points, showcases certain aspects of the surrounding environment, and at other points showcases the Aboriginal history of the area. The idea is for it to be interactive and fun for families, whilst also being an educational and beautiful sculpture. As people walk through, mirrors would be reflecting all different ways and depending at which point they stood at, different areas of the environment would be reflected. Ideally the pieces of the sculpture would be able to be disassembled, so the sculpture could reflect different sections of the area and could be used in other areas as well.

It’s important to note the choice of artist would have to be specific as it would be very important to employ someone who has a connection with the area and understands the context.

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The idea of an art installation which encapsulates aspects of the surrounding environment, whilst showcasing Northshore’s history. 

The sculpture will be named Mirrored History.

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The Progression of Northshore’s Gentrification

1860 - after being invaded by European settlers, they used the large area as  port for imports such as timber (some of which is being displayed on The Deck, another community initiative in Northshore which aims to showcase the history)

1880 - area became less industrialised with Eagle Farm racecourse and Hamilton Hotel bringing in crowds (This was the first steps towards the area becoming commercialised)

1900 - Hamilton grew and development furthered - exports of coal furthered by dredging of the Brisbane River

1920 - Hamilton became it’s own town, more land was acquired and Northshore was born (First signs of area becoming wealthy)

1940 - Continued wealth rise in area, Doomben Racecourse opened andRoyal Queensland Golf Course opened, wharfs extended

1960 - Area was used for ww2 base camps, therefore exports grew (expansion of area slowed to help war)

1980 - Despite the damaging floods, became the main shipping port for Brisbane

2000 - Real renewal began for Northshore after gateway bridge, portside cruise terminal and Commonwealth Games put Brisbane on map

2020 - Continued renewal of Northshore - with a focus on placemaking and new infrastructure ie. Eat Street  - trying to make area more commercial, family friendly

Source: Northshore History

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Eat Street - Northshore; pre-construction era timeline.

Source: https://www.lat27.com.au/projects/northshore-activation/

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A snippet of Northshore’s Eat Street - 2020 

(Self-sourced)

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The site has a loaded indigenous background, which throughout the construction of ideas, must be kept in mind. The client has made it clear that they wish for this to be reflected in the creative project being proposed. The concept doesn't necessarily have to relay all these specific facts, however they should remain in mind during the design process.

-  Aboriginal people resided near the banks of the Brisbane River opposite a large sandbank they called Mooroo-Mooroolbin or ‘long nose’ (Europeans called it the Hamilton Sandbank)

-  They were Aboriginal people of the Turrbal language group

- There was several camps north of Brisbane River, including Breakfast Creek and Eldernell Hill

- Aboriginal people relied upon the land for resources such as fish, shellfish, cobra (marine worms)

- Possibly the most important part of Northshore’s Aboriginal history is the ceremonial life, as Northshore was the scene of tournaments and corroborees 

(Sources: The Transformation of Northshore, Northshore Site Survery Information, 2020)