Foundation Seed

This sculpture was largely funded in partnership with the state government’s department of planning and the City West Precinct Committee. The commissioning bodies wanted a work of art that would act as a marker for the city with connotations of a gateway. This sculpture is the tallest in Newcastle at fourteen metres high and the the upper section is kinetic. Inspired by the Toona Ciliata, or red cedar, that grew prolifically in this area in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the sculpture’s base references the seed of the plant and the moving verdigris upper section recalls the leaf of the cedar. Surfers are known to judge the surfing conditions by the wind generated turning of the leaf.Viewed from the traffic lights in Stewart Avenue sightlines continue to the Obelisk in the distance.

Map No: 23

Name: Foundation Seed 2005

Artist: John Turier

Material: Steel and aluminium

Location: King Street, Newcastle West