A humble moth inspires latest inner-city sculpture
One Adelaide neighbourhood is dedicated to creating one major public artwork for its locals every four years. This stunning sculpture is its latest contribution.
An inner-city Adelaide neighbourhood is building on its growing public artwork portfolio with its latest sculpture growing wings this month.
Rain is the fifth public artwork installed in the inner-city neighbourhoods of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters with the new sculpture created by artists Laura Wills and Will Cheesman.
Inspired by the humble rain moth, one of the creators says Rain celebrates one of nature’s often-overlooked inhabitants.
“The artwork explores the story of the rain moth, an amazing local story exploring temporality, fertility and connection to place, and we are pleased to be sharing it with the community,” Wills says.
The sculpture features striking wings that act as a canvas for local stories, featuring intricate, lace-like imagery woven into patterns of camouflage.
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Beneath the main sculpture, glowing caterpillars and a constellation of lights create a sense of simultaneously looking underground and into the night sky, encouraging curiosity and imagination.
“I hope everyone who encounters Rain, whether they are passing through the area, visiting for the first time or have lived here for decades, will discover something new each time they stop to look, and be inspired by the story of Rain,” Norwood, Payneham and St Peters Mayor Robert Bria says.
The local council commissioned the artwork through its Quadrennial Public Art Program with Bria saying “public art has the ability to transform our streets and public places”.
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“It invites us to pause, to look more closely, to question, and to see familiar places in new ways. It enriches our everyday lives and helps tell the stories that make our city unique — and Rain is a wonderful example of this.”
The project is the result of extensive collaboration and Kaurna consultation with artist Violet Buckskin, author Jennifer Mills, filmmaker Tayla Stabile, and entomology experts from the South Australian Museum.
The Quadrennial Public Art Program sees one new major public art commissioned during each term of council, with the first work, Spectrum, installed on Osmond Terrace in 2010.
Under the council’s Public Art Policy, a total budget of $300,000 was allocated for this commission, including a $100,000 grant secured from CreateSA, through the Government of South Australia.
A growing collection
Rain joins a collection of major public artworks across the city:
- Seed Mix (Hackney, 2022)
- Perpetual Sun (Stepney, 2018)
- Fallow (St Peters, 2014)
- Spectrum (Norwood, 2010).
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