Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

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Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.
Showing posts with label Urban Taskforce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Taskforce. Show all posts

Monday 8 October 2012

Tower of Power- Drawings of the White Bay Power Station

White Bay, an often overlooked part of Sydney's industrial and maritime heritage will soon be radically overhauled.
ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm

FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE




















Enquiries

I have painted many of its current and former landmarks, including the Unilever site, the White Bay Power Station and the notorious White Bay Hotel, (which was 'mysteriously' burnt down) ever since they were all operational in the late 70s - early 80s.

ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'Chimneys of the White Bay Power Station 2' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE
Enquiries
This is a group of 4 small ink wash and gouache drawings on paper, which I have decided to enter in the 2012 Kedumba Invitational Drawing Prize.
ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'Coal Loader White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm

FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE





















It seems a strange distortion of scale to create such small works in response to such a slumbering beast as the gigantic Power Station. Usually I paint an enormous canvas to try to capture its heroic proportions.
However there are so many exquisite details which can get lost in a larger composition that I was glad of the opportunity to focus on them. Every inch of this rusting monster is worthy of a painting, so that it is difficult to choose.
ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'Coal Loader and Chimney White Bay Power Station'
 2012 ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE


And I will have to choose quickly.
Now the White Bay Transit Shed has been partially demolished and the site re-developed as the controversial new Cruise ship terminal.
Glebe Island wharf, once used for offloading cars, has been eerily empty since the departure of ex-HMAS Adelaide to its watery grave off North Avoca in 2011.
A temporary exhibition venue will soon be built on this space to replace the Darling Harbour complex while it is being refurbished.
A road will soon be built on the empty site where the "Great Gatsby" had been filmed last year, to link all these new developments to civilization.
oil painting on canvas of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
"White Bay Power Station after rain"
2012 oil on canvas 183 x 112cm
Sold 
PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY

So I feel that the days of the White Bay Power Station as a hulking urban ghost are numbered. 
One day the sleeping giant will wake.... 
To what sort of future? 
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