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.

'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.

'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.

'Coal Loader White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE

Enquiries

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.

'Coal Loader and Chimney White Bay Power Station'
 2012 ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE

Enquiries

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.

"White Bay Power Station after rain"
2012 oil on canvas 183 x 112cm

Sold 
PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY

Enquiries 

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? 
Update

Chris Johnson of the much loathed Urban Taskforce has described the White Bay Power Station as a 'lazy asset' in a story in the Inner West Courier Skyscraper one of the plans for Glebe Island from Urban Taskforce  16 Oct 2012  written by Oliver Murray. 

Funny, I've always thought that about the Urban Taskforce.

Apparently the two main options on the table to decrease its laziness will be to plonk a 60 storey tower on the end of the peninsula, or 8 residential blocks ranging between 20 - 30 storeys high. 
All throughout 2013 men have been working on the roof replacing the rusty corrugated iron, so hopefully this means that the building will be adapted and reused rather than demolished. 
However I have seen sham repairs before. The CWG building in the AGL Gasworks Mortlake site  (now Breakfast Point) had an elaborate network of bright red bollards propping up the interior, looking like a bizarre set of cat whiskers. This led onlookers to believe that its facade would be retained - right up until its demolition.
So excuse my cynicism.

Also see my page in this blog :

White Bay Hotel/White Bay Power Station Paintings

Related posts

Inside Out

Power House

Artist in Residence at the White Bay Power Station - Part 2

Artist in Residence at the White Bay Power Station Part 1

Steady Rest

Rust Bucket