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 graffiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graffiti. Show all posts

Friday 3 July 2020

The empty mask- Edwin Davey and Sons Flour Mill, Pyrmont

Built in 1896, the Edwin Davey and Sons Flour Mill was the last and one of the longest operating flour mills operating in inner Sydney.
The main building was a 4 storey brick flour mill in the utilitarian Federation Free Classical architectural style, with rectangular window openings and a corrugated iron roof behind a plain parapet.
The north facade had a large triangular pediment bearing the business name "Edwin Davey and Sons". On the western side, an extension built out to the cliff line. There was a rail siding from the old Metropolitan Goods Line on the northern side, below the escarpment with some remaining wheat elevation gear and corrugated iron clad extensions at the back of the mill.
By the time of these paintings from the early 2000s, the interior had long been gutted of any machinery and there are obvious horizontal bands of bracing girdling the exterior facade and keeping its last few bricks from falling onto the cars below.
Plein air oil painting of the exterior facade of the ruin of the Edwin Davey and Sons Flour Mill, Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P263A 'Edwin Davey Flour Mill'
2012 oil on board 26 x 38cm
Available

Until the 1860s the Ultimo end of the Pyrmont peninsula was still an undeveloped grazing property owned by Surgeon John Harris and his heirs.
In 1895, 10 lots of Block 42 of the Harris Estate was bought by Freeman and Sons, producers of a large range of household goods, who built a flour mill on the site.
In 1900 Edwin Davey, who already owned mills in South Australia, bought the Ultimo Roller Mills, to produce flour for export, as freight costs from Sydney were better than in Adelaide.
Plein air oil painting of the demolition of the Fielder Gillespie Flour Mills, Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P100 Demolition of the Fielder Gillespie Flour Mills 2
1992 oil on paper 75 x 100cm
Available

The Ultimo Mill went into production in 1901 under the name Chanticleer Flour and operated until 1992, when it became part of Weston Milling Ltd. As the Ultimo mill was small and old fashioned, it was closed, gutted and sold for development.
By coincidence, about the same time, over the opposite side of Pyrmont Peninsula, Fielder Gillespie Flour Mills, next to the Pyrmont Power Station, was also being demolished. After a few weeks the Fielder Gillespie site was completely cleared and remained empty space until eventual redevelopment as a Woolworths and various other shops and offices. By contrast, the ghostly skeleton of the Edwin Davey and Sons building haunted the western edge of Pyrmont for a generation.

Plein air oil painting of the interior of the ruin of the Edwin Davey and Sons Flour Mill, Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P263 'Edwin Davey Flour Mill'
2012 oil on paper 13 x 23cm
Available

By 2001 the building had been reduced to a wafer thin shell of bricks propped up in front of a weedy wasteland.
My painting above shows the interior of the facade, criss-crossed with bracing and scribbled over with cryptic graffiti.
The empty mask formerly known as the Edwin Davey and Sons flour mill was for almost 30 years a landmark for anyone driving to or from Pyrmont over the Anzac Bridge.It was demolished and replaced by an apartment block, with a small shed cantilevered on the western facade.
It lights up at night in a token gesture to the former building's existence.

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Black cat of Union Square

Are black cats lucky?
People seem to be equally divided into those who think its lucky to have a black cat cross their path, and those who think it's very unlucky.
I feel this cat was a lucky omen for this particular nook of Pyrmont.
Union Square, in contrast to many other parts of Pyrmont, had kept much of its original character. Unlike many other inner city neighbourhoods, this one has so far dodged the relentless rollout of Westconnex and other highways and tollways that has blitzed several other nearby suburbs on the fringe of the city.
In 2009, the NSW Government's proposal for a Metro entrance in the charming historical precinct of Union Square had threatened to obliterate one of the last remaining vestiges of Pyrmont's heritage. But times and governments change, and the whole project was cancelled in 2010. The vaguely Parisian atmosphere of Union Square remains a charming contrast to the bloated pomposity of the Star Casino only a block away. 
Plein air oil painting of panorama of Union Square Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P277 Union Square Terraces + Paternoster Row
2011 oil on canvas  31 x 103cm

One of the many joys of plein air painting is that the time that I have to spend looking at my subject reveals tiny details lost to a more casual observer.
On the corner of Union st and Paternoster Row there is a faded and clumsily drawn painting of an almost headless black cat, which goes mostly unnoticed by the passing cyclists. It fascinates me that this cryptic little fragment has somehow escaped being scraped off or obliterated with a schmick new paint job.
It was painted by an eccentric street artist Bruno Dutot some time between about 1989 and 1991 before the arrival of a more strident fashion in graffiti from New York a few years later.
Plein air oil painting of panorama of Union Square Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P277 Detail of cat painted on wall-
Union Square Terraces + Paternoster Row
2011  oil on canvas  31 x 103cm
Available




















This fragment of a cat once had a very soigne companion, painted in a style reminiscent of Erte, but in an endearingly amateur fashion. She was a slender, highly stylized and stylish woman called rather weirdly, "Oucha", and versions of this image cropped up all over the inner city in her heyday of the late 1980s - 1990s.
I remember passing her strangely elongated image on the corner of Union Square and Paternoster Row, back in the days when Union Square had two-way traffic and was a shortcut to the Fishmarkets and Glebe.
Plein air oil painting of panorama of Union Square Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P274 Union Square Terraces 4 -
a little piece of Paris in Pyrmont
 2010 oil on canvas  31 x 61cm
Available















The painting above shows Union Square from Paternoster Row down to Pyrmont Street. It was painted in 2010, just before the cancellation of the Metro plans had been made public.
Back then, the chimneys of the Pyrmont Power Station loomed over the terraces of Union Square instead of the equally monolithic Casino. The 'Harlequin Inn' which can be seen to the right of this canvas, on the corner of Union Square and Harris Street, was then the more down at heel 'Duke of Wellington' and boasted a huge and incongruous cartwheel as a wall feature. The two way road has been transformed into a one way lane with a large pedestrian area circling the "Angel of Union Square", with seating and odd sandstone 'mushrooms' (actually part of the balustrade salvaged long ago from the now pedestrianized Pyrmont Bridge) But, essentially, very little has changed in Union Square since the 1980s.
Plein air oil painting of Pyrmont Post Office and the Pyrmont War Memorial Union Square Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P242 Pyrmont Post Office
1993 oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
Available

















The painting above was painted in the early 1990s from the other end of Union Square, and shows the intersection of Union Square and Miller Street as a two-way street before it became a plaza. The "Angel of Union Square" is in the centre and behind her is the Commonwealth Bank painted a particularly horrid shade of "Paddington Pink". On the extreme right is a corner of the "Duke of Wellington" Hotel, and on the right is the golden sandstone archway of the Walter Liberty Vernon designed Pyrmont Post Office.
The last example of "Oucha" that I know of, can still be seen on a corner of Edgecliff road on the left hand side travelling from the city towards Edgecliff. She is occasionally repainted, possibly even by the original artist, and sometimes decorated with glitter.
She and her cat are relics of a less worldly age.
The wall above the cat has an obvious tidemark where "Oucha" has been painted over with more enthusiasm than skill and it remains distinctly two-toned.
Plein air oil painting of Pyrmont war Memorial "Angel Of Union Square"of Union Square Pyrmont by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P276 Angel of Union Square
2010 oil on wood 23 x 12cm
Available





















The lovely First World War monument known locally as the "Angel of Union Square" seems to have had a protective effect over her square, acting as a shield against marauding developers.
But I like to think of the little faded and forgotten black cat as her mascot.

See more paintings of Union Square at the Pyrmont page in my blog

Related Posts


Wednesday 24 June 2015

Illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows- Painting the Dunlop - Slazenger factory Part 2

The graffiti inside the abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite remember what it was.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory
Soda panorama' 2015
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
The walls are rich in texture, vibrant in colour and elaborate in detail.
They are possibly full of hidden meanings, incomprehensible to the uninitiated, or it could be just random doodling.

plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory
Soda panorama' 2015
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
The calligraphy is cursive and the chunky letters are interlocked like links in a chain, making the words hard to read yet hypnotic to look at.

plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
There is a "horror vacui" - blank space isn't tolerated and won't last long.
Images are scattered throughout the factory, but the text dominates and has become imagery in its own right.

plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
The letters are outlined in black, often with highlights of white or red on the ascenders (the parts of letters such as "h" "b" or "d" that extend above the line)  or descenders (the parts of letters such as "g" "q" or "j" that extend below the line).
Occasionally backgrounds of gold or silver add a bit more bling and some are even adorned with star bursts.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
John Paul, the demolisher who had given me the heads up about the site, finally nailed it.
The Book of Kells, he said. (John Paul is Irish!)
To be sure, to be sure!
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
This is a close up of my painting of the graffiti on left hand wall, and you can see that John Paul really had a point.
In another context, I could easily imagine one of the letters as a historiated initial in a medieval illuminated manuscript.
A historiated initial is an enlarged letter at the beginning of a text, which contains a picture.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
This is a closeup detail of my painting of the graffiti in one of the small rooms to the left hand side.
This font is dramatically serif (there is a large difference between thick and thin lines) and is extravagantly embellished with finials( tapered or curved ends), swashes (extended  decorative flourishes)and lachrymals (teardrop shapes).
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory
'Soda' panorama'  2015  oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries 
Many different hands have been at work here, overlapping and adding marginalia, drolleries and the odd obscenity.
 "Soda" has been written in a more "slab serif" style, where there is less difference between thick and thin lines.
This tag stands out from its neighbours due to its cleaner font as well as its striking silver, black and pink colour scheme.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 Detail of windows in 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory
- 'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
And what could go better with illuminated manuscripts, than stained glass windows?
These windows are very stained indeed.
The graffiti is probably much older than on the walls, as they would have only been accessible when the building still had a roof, which was at least a couple of years ago.
There is no lead separating the colours, however, being a factory, the windows were made from glass strengthened by an internal diamond grid of wiremesh. Breaks in the glass add spiderweb patterns.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
 'Soda' panorama'   2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm                                       
Enquiries
 

At sunset the window colours are reflected on the ground in a series of rainbows, an effect I last experienced visiting Chartres cathedral.

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Thursday 28 May 2015

Palimpsest- Painting the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger Factory

A palimpsest is a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing.
The word is also used for something worked upon for one purpose and later reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
I've recently been painting both inside and outside the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory in Alexandria.
It has been abandoned for about 25 years, and has innumerable layers of graffiti ranging from the sublimely talented to the ridiculously inept.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory





















 
The walls of the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger Factory are a palimpsest - a fascinating mix of both creation and destruction.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory
29-04-15 Starting my first canvas of the Dunlop-Slazenger factory. I don't know what the image is of or what it's called, so I've christened it "Yellow Eye".

Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory















 

It's an insight into the way different generations alter the landscape of their ancestors.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory






















 The factory is full of ghosts.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory






















On the second day of painting this canvas, I changed the composition to include the bizarre cartoon characters on the upper walls.
There is a grotesque creature which is part baboon part wildebeast and part crocodile with wriggling worm-like hair, and two characters resembling demonic smurfs.
The glass has also been tagged, and the rays of the setting sun make it light up like the stained glass of Chartres cathedral.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
The building is now being sand-blasted back to the original brick and will be redeveloped for apartments.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
Such is progress, alas.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
My extremely fashionable painting outfit. Lady Gaga will be copying this soon!
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
Painting in PPE (Personal protective equipment)
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
DS3 'Greeblies' -
Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory'
2015 oil on canvas 122 x 122cm
 






















 
 
Related posts

Illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows- Painting the Dunlop - Slazenger factory Part 2