drawing machines, landscape, wind
MILLKULTURE is a permanent kinetic drawing machine installation at the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum in Lilydale, Victoria Australia. The project was funded by Creative Victoria and the Yarra Ranges Shire Council in 2015.
The first image shows 14 months of wind powered drawing with graphite on concrete.
The work carries on my favourite modus operandi of working both inside and outside a building, connecting the two worlds through mechanical linkages responding to natural energy.
Powered by wind, a slowly rotating 3-metre diameter turbine wheel drives a sturdy mechanism. The machine is sited in breezeways between the old building and the new extensions. The axles spread into two spots. In the cafe, a stone slowly revolves, reminding us of a meteorite which according to legend, formed the nearby cave at Cave Hill. Inside the museum, a series of wheels is slowly set in motion, driving a long graceful arm. The arm supports a birdlike object, with lyre-bird tail feathers and a beak of graphite. On windy days, it is able to move about the room and strike the wall. Over time, marks accumulate directly on the concrete wall.
A series of fossils from the local limestone quarry, and in the museum collection were cast into bronze and added into the sculpture.
Special thanks to Anderson Hunt, David Murphy, Braye Sutherland, Peter Felicetti, Rock Martin, Greg Box, Tilla Buden and Brodie Ellis for all their work and support on the project.