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Regeneration

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Joanna Lefroy Capelle

Asset Type: Mural

Year of Work: 1996

Location: Niches under Northern edge of Victoria Gardens, on Southern pier of Inlet to Claisebrook Cove

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: Twenty meters long by five meters high, the Niche Wall Mural by Joanna Lefroy Capelle is a narrative of East Perth history.  

According to the plaque it traces the “evolution of this area from its origins in the Bibbulmun nation to the arrival of Europeans, industrial and horticultural growth, the phase of dormancy and finally renewal as a place of community and harmony for the human spirit”. In the absence of other more detailed information about East Perth’s history, the mural simplifies this story.  Regardless of intentions, the artwork implies Darwinist “evolution” of the suburb. Aboriginal connections to the area are relegated to a “bygone” past. Some have claimed that the representation is “grotesque” and offensive.

The placement of the mural on a limestone wall (built to disguise the sewage pipes behind it), along with the abandoned blankets which regularly appear in front of the mural, suggest the harmony mentioned in the plaque is, in fact, a façade.

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Charnock Woman

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Sandra Hill, Miv Egan, Jenny Dawson

Asset Type: Mosaic

Year of Work: 1996

Location: Eastern Observatory, Victoria Gardens, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

The East Perth foreshore was a meeting and camping place for the Noongar people. This colourful ceramic mosaic tells the Noongar Dreaming Story of a giant evilspirit woman, known as the Charnock woman, who stole children. The story can be read on the accompanying wall plaque.

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Heritage Map

Image Source Link

Image source Google Maps

Artist: Malcolm McGregor

Asset Type: Sculpture, Print

Year of Work: 2001

Location: Intersection of Royal Street and Regal Place, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: The Heritage Map is made from granite. It shows the old East Perth with descriptions and other historical information.

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The Weeping Wall

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Nola Farman, Marcelle George

Asset Type: Sculpture, Water feature, Plaque

Year of Work: 1998

Location: The Greenway, beneath Brook Street, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: The curved limestone retaining wall not only ensures that a mature tree remains part of the new landscape, but also that the water artificially seeping through it reinforces the power and presence of water in this area of Perth.

The text talks about the abundance of food found in the Claisebrook wetland and how it was cooked in the past

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The Source

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Nola Farman

Asset Type: Sculpture, Water feature

Year of Work: 1998

Location: The Greenway, South Eastern corner of intersection of Royal Street and Fielder Street, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

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Yoondoorup Boorna

Artist: Alma Toomath

Asset Type: Plaque, Prose

Year of Work: 1996

Location: Swan River Foreshore, North Eastern corner of Victoria Gardens, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: This old river gum, removed as part of the redevelopment of the East Perth area, was treated and returned to the site at the request of the Noongar people. Its burnt and split trunk was used as a hiding place for goods and messages by those who once camped here. In 2014 the tree saddle was destroyed by fire leaving only the log and plaque. 

Inscription:
YOONDOORUP BOORNA
Claisebrook Tree

This tree has been used in many ways
by the Bibbulmun people at this location
on the border of the Derbal Yaragan
Swan River it is hereby recognised
for harmony and friendship.

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Unnamed Seat

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Rueben Kooperman and Flint Edwards

Asset Type: Sculpture, Public amenity

Year of Work: 1998

Location: At foot of retaining wall facing Swan River
Foreshore, beneath Southern side of 16 Vanguard Terrace, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

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Talking Heads

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Andrew Miller

Asset Type: Sculpture, Metalwork

Year of Work: 2003

Location: Small Reserve, North Eastern Corner, Hay and Thomas Street intersection

Provenance: City of Perth

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Penrose's Impossible Triangle

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Brian McKay, Ahmad Abas

Asset Type: Sculpture, Metalwork

Year of Work: 1999

Location: Roundabout, intersection of Royal, Brook and East Parade, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: “In 1999 DENMAC had the honour of working with leading WA artist Brian McKay and architect Ahmad Abas on creating the iconic “Impossible Triangle” art installation situated in East Perth. The art installation was part of the East Perth Redevelopment Project which sought to convert 38 hectares of industrial land into a liveable suburb adjacent to the Perth CBD. At the time this was the largest urban renewal project undertaken in WA.

In 1997, Brian McKay and Ahmad Abas submitted their design for the major commission in which they were successful. Inspired by the Penrose triangle first articulated by the Swedish artist, Oscar Reutersvard the “Impossible Triangle” sits a massive 13.5 metres high and has remained an East Perth landmark for 20 years.

DENMAC was responsible for the design, fabrication and installation. The polished steel striations reflect both artificial light and sunlight, dramatically changing between sunrise and sunset a feature we achieved for the first time on this project.

Working on a project of this magnitude presents its pressures and difficulties however our experience in working with similar structures fully equipped us to ensure a structure was built that would withstand the elements and test of time.” -DENMAC

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Percy Buttons

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith

Asset Type: Sculpture, Metalwork, Memorial

Year of Work: 2006

Location: Hay Street Mall, Southern side, East of London Court

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: Inscription reads:

“Percy Button was a local street entertainer and one of Perth's best known faces from the 1920's to the 1950's. Performing somersaults and handstands, Percy entertained people for a few shillings while they waited to see films, newsreels and theatrical performances at the theatres that were concentrated in what is now the Hay Street Mall, the Theatre Royal, the Ambassador and His Majesty's Theatre.

Percy was renowned for his grubbiness and in November 1929 local newspaper, The Mirror, dressed Percy up in a long-tailed suit and ran a front page competition asking readers to guess the identity of the cleaned up man. The Mirror offered a guinea's worth of goods for the first opened letter giving the man's name. The newspaper later asked Percy to write the 1929 Centenary Christmas Message.

This artwork celebrates the spirit of the street.”

Launched by the Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor  Dr. Peter Nattress
12 October 2006The sculpture commemorates street entertainer Percy Button (1892 - 1954) and celebrates the spirit of the street.  

Percy Button emigrated from England to Western Australia in 1910 and worked at odd jobs and as a farmhand. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F) in World War One but was invalided home and discharged in 1918.

He took to a vagrant life in Perth, sometimes earning a living by selling newspapers and collecting bottles, but soon becoming the city's best-known street entertainer. Neither the 1930s Depression nor World War Two made much difference to Button's style of living, but, as age slowed his acrobatic prowess and he added the mouth-organ to his repertoire. 

By 1951 his condition had so deteriorated that arrangements were made for his admission to the Old Men's Home at Dalkeith. He died of coronary thrombosis on 5 March 1954 at Claremont Mental Hospital and was buried in Karrakatta cemetery with Catholic rites. The Repatriation Department paid for his funeral. 

Visit: monumentaustralia

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