Highway Vignettes

The Monaro Highway from Canberra to the Snowy Mountains has many sculpture creations.

GREEN MOUNTAIN BLUE II

Heading north towards Canberra, the work of American artist Charles Ginnever, Green Mountain Blue II is visible on the western side of the Monaro Highway south of Bredbo.

Commissioned by property owner John Kahlbetzer in 1978, the steel artwork was painted blue to harmonise with the Monaro skies. Measuring 21 metres long by 8 metres high, it is made from four steel I-beams, a tension cable and situated in a paddock high above the highway.

The sculpture was donated to the National Gallery of Australia in 1981, who undertook extensive conservation work in 2007. The entire surface of the sculpture was sandblasted to remove the damaged paint layer and corrosion, then primed and repainted. A sample of the original blue paint was taken for future reference before applying the new colour, ‘Harbour Blue’, chosen in consultation with the artist and curatorial and conservation sta .

Legionnaire

At the time of construction of this work in 2000, legionnaire’s disease was the headline news story that inspired artist Ian Houssenloge. Created for an exhibition at Cowra’s Japanese Gardens Look What I Found in the Sheds, it celebrated found or unused materials. A timber structure, stainless steel ducting and high tensile nuts and bolts, this landscape dominating sculpture even has glow in the dark eyes. The work was installed near Royalla just before the 2000 snow season and in its original form, had water jets and halogen lights.

SNOWY RIVER SPHERE

Just north of the Snowy Mountains Airport the five metre Snowy River Sphere was commissioned by Snowy River Shire Council in 2011 and creates a gateway to the snowies. Created from the salvaged curved steel shoring beams from the Skitube tunnel, the work is an enduring reminder of the regions outdoor sculpture event.

The artist Richard Mo att from Bega stated, “The random lineal surface is indicative of many interconnecting pathways which cross over to connect the Snowy Mountains community. The lines recognize the journeys undertaken by our indigenous forebears, foot tracks of past settlers, the gold seams followed in the 1800s, agriculture with animal tracks, river systems especially the Snowy River, the pipelines of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electricity Scheme, roads, now defunct railways, phone lines, ski runs of our favourite mountain playgrounds, high altitude jet streams and futuristic invisible cyberspace connections.”

Mo att is recognised throughout the region for his large scale sculptures which use recycled industrial parts, and are often inspired by the natural environment.

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