THE ROCKS WINDMILL

Commissioned by Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority

Collaboration with Joey Ruigrok van der Werven
Open 12th April – 12th May 2013, The Rocks, Sydney

The Rocks Windmill project sees the design and creation of a temporary free standing 11m tall public artwork. The temporary rebuilding of a Windmill as a theatre space, speaks to the formative growth of culture in Australia where as early as 1789 the first play was presented and 7 years later in 1796, a small theatre was in operation as part of a mill owned by Robert Sideway. Locating the production of food and culture as developing hand in hand with the making of this new colony. It was also noted that Sideway, a pardoned convict had a contract to make bread for the military allowed patrons to pay for their attendance in flour. Siting the production of flour not only a basic foodstuff but also as a defined commodity of exchange.

The original design concept was first proposed in 2011 along with Marley Dawson and came out of the 2 week Incubator Lab organised by Michael Cohen and Fiona Winning that saw the bringing together of over 10 NSW artists to conceive and propose works on and around the history of the Rocks Area. The Rocks Windmill is the inaugural work generated out of this lab.

Over 3 storeys tall, The Rocks Windmill was a fully functioning windmill as an open space for public participation and community events via a flexible event space in the ground floor, combining a portable flour mill, plus an artist in residence/ gallery space on the 2^nd floor.