I Never Noticed That Before

Beauty Park, Frankston

The Site

Beauty Park is seen as a link between the Frankston Waterfront and Frankston's George Pentland Botanical Gardens.

                                

Observation

There is a walking path, ornamental lake,children's playground,BBQ area and plantings of indigenous species in the park. In the middle of the park are two raised viewing platforms suspended over the water's edge. On the days and nights that I visited the park there was hardly anyone around.

What I never noticed before was an abstract sculpture by an Australian artist named Deborah Halpern. Unfortunately I had to walk through the garden to find who the artist was and during the night there was very little light so the sculpture could not be seen.
Deborah Halpern is perhaps best known for her sculpture 'Angel', which was commissioned to stand in the moat at the entrance to the National Gallery of Victoria, and is now installed at its new home on the Yarra Bank at Birrarung Marr, alongside the National Gallery of Victoria’s Ian Potter Centre, Federation Square.

After researching the park I also discovered that the Park was known for its association with Lord Baden-Powell and the Scouting Jamboree from the 27th December, 1934 to the 13th January, 1935. This Jamboree was the first international gathering of Scouts outside Europe and the only Australian Jamboree attended by Lord Baden-Powell.

Artwork Response

My idea then was to create a large abstract blue sculpture, made of steel in the shape of a scout Jamboree pennant; with imprinted Australian Jamboree Memorabilia pictures and place in the park, The sculpture would then enlighten the community of such an important historical event that had occurred in the “Beauty Park ‘of Frankston.