Underland - delivery of recycled styrofoam

The tip of the iceberg

A huge quantity of materials, yet it still looks small in comparison to the scale of the Underground Car Park.

Underland - was struck by Roarawar Feartata and the roots of the Tower

10/03/11

Behind the Tower, beneath the ground, secrets are absorbed like moisture. Whilst people with dogs curse as they beat the paths above, below the tinkering of arcane visions keeps rhythm with the seeping water. The roots of the Tower descend deep into mystery.

While reading through Roarawar Feartatas written responses in this blog to the estate during their autumn residency. It was striking to find this section refering to 'the roots of the tower descend deep into mystery.' A nice synergy in view of Underland being a labyrinth root system for the towers above.

Underland is a Craft Cubed Festival Satellite Event

Underland will be open to the Collingwood Housing Estate community and the public at a culminating event on Saturday 13 August, 2011 from 5-8pm.

Underland - materials research

Artist, Laine Hogarty collecting

During the process of mapping the Collingwood Housing Estate some materials began to occur more frequently, particularly the packaging from electrical equipment. Recycled styrofoam material due to its strength, lightness and moisture resistant qualities became an obvious choice to use for the construction of the Underland labyrinth.

Underland - rainy day waterfalls

Waterfall

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When it rains the Collingwood Underground Car Park comes alive with the sound of water dripping and babbling through pipes. Being an underground space it has it's own unique ecosystem where at times plants and fungi can be found growing.

Underland - Livewires workshop

Flouro pipecleaners AKA chenille sticks being made into 'treasures'

Livewires is an after school care program for children living in the community. Laine Hogarty and Michal Teague ran a workshop with the children, asking them to make 'treasures' that will be embedded within the Underland labyrinth.

Underland - local character cars

Car with a hand made antenna map

Colourful character

The cars in the surrounding area reveal aspects of their owners personality providing another way to 'map' the Collingwood Housing Estate and its surrounding environment. The car above was painted during the Melbourne Stencil Festival.

Underland - mapping continued

Tiger and cat surveying the view from the tower

From the singular window to multiple patterns of homes

After spending some time on the Estate, you begin to notice a community of pets, cats and dogs, looking out of windows and being taken for walks. Another interesting aspect to living in the community is that residents tell of how higher up in the towers, they can be felt to move in strong winds, a common feature of the design of taller buildings everywhere. This has given rise to considering how the labyrinth under construction can potentially move in response to the movement of people through Underland.

Underland - mapping the towers and surrounding environment

During the progress of Underland Laine Hogarty and Michal Teague have been documenting the visible and invisible elements of the Collingwood High Rise estate community. Traces and items left by people.

Underland - the beginning

The site prior to construction

Artist Michal Teague, sweeping, sweeping, sweeping...

The scale of the Collingwood Underground Car Park provides a unique opportunity to create a site specific public artwork with the Collingwood Housing Estate community. The site is filled with multiple layers of imagery on the floor, walls and ceiling of previous artists interacting in the space, the graffiti in view in these images are from the Melbourne Stencil Festival.

Underland - Root made during early community pop up studios

Root made by community participant in the Collingwood Underground Car Park

In the development phase of what was to become the AURA Project, a series of artist pop up studios was funded by Yarra City Council. The pop ups assisted in devising what kind of projects might work with the Collingwood Housing Estate community. An initial interest in suspending artwork from the ceiling to emphasise the experience of being underground, developed into creating a community root system which could be walked through like a labyrinth.