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< Living Archives

An Unusual Build

SEAN CLARIDGE

An Unusual Build
Tatzu Nishi, War and peace and in between, 2009, Art Gallery Road, Sydney, photographed during installation process. Photo: Carley Wright

For Project 19 in 2009, artist Tatzu Nishi transformed two equestrian statues in front of the Art Gallery of NSW by enclosing them in rooms furnished like domestic interiors. Visitors were surprised and delighted by the disturbance of Gilbert Bayes’ familiar bronze figures and were invited to encounter monuments usually viewed at a distance. Titled War and peace and in between, the project was typical of Nishi’s practice of working with public statues so familiar that they pass unnoticed, until he prompts us to see them with fresh eyes.

Sean Claridge benefited from special insight as lead builder on the project, working closely with Nishi to construct both of the rooms. Sean usually works on commercial renovations and when asked to quote on the build, he was keen to participate in the realisation of such a unique idea. There were particular challenges in this job, such as customising furniture to fit exactly around the sculptures while taking care not to cause any damage.

Appreciative of the builders’ efforts, Nishi had his photo taken with the group, and displayed it in one of the rooms. As Sean recalls, “The boys got a great kick about the photo.” Once the project was complete the structures were disassembled and the materials recycled into other jobs, meaning that the elements of this project are now included in a range of buildings across Sydney.

Although Sean was familiar with every detail of the construction, when he took his family to visit the finished work he could still experience the magic, saying, “It was like I was seeing it for the first time through them.”

Ten years later, each time Sean passes by the Gallery, he looks at the statues and remembers their transformation. He pays renewed attention to other statues around the city and speculates on what could be built around them.

READ MORE ABOUT PROJECT 19: TATZU NISHI
View Other Living Archive Stories
Art Without Barriers
Swapping for a Silver Anklet
Transported Into Another World
An Emotional Tour of 13 Rooms
Performance Lessons with Marina Abramović
A tidy domestic bedroom with two single beds, furnished with deep red carpet, curtains, an armchair and a chandelier. On top of the beds is a large bronze statue of a man, wearing a cape and holding a staff, on horseback. The bed covering is crumpled under the horse’s hooves, and spilling onto the floor.
Framed photograph of five men, smiling.
A blue box-like structure with a window, on top of a scaffolding base, with stairs, and surrounded by temporary fencing. The structure sits in front of a neo-classical sandstone building.
A timber frame around a neo-classical statue of a horse and rider. The structure sits on a scaffolding base, surrounded by construction materials, and in front of a neo-classical sandstone building.
A blue box-like structure with a window, on top of a scaffolding base, with stairs, and surrounded by temporary fencing and construction materials. The structure sits in front of a neo-classical sandstone building.
Legs of a neo-classical statue of a horse and rider, topped by a timber structure, and surrounded by scaffolding.
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