Reverie

Artists: Paul Johnson
Completed: 2005
 

In 2004 the Dandenong Development Board and Council formed a partnership to commission an iconic artwork for a landmark site in Dandenong.

The site, opposite the Dandenong Town Hall, was selected for its high profile on one of the city’s busiest intersections. The generous footpath area provided a large footprint for an artwork to be incorporated into the site providing a focal point for motorists and pedestrians.

In 2013, Reverie was relocated to Pultney Street as part of the Revitalising Central Dandneong Project.

The City of Greater Dandenong selected Queensland artist Paul Johnson’s concept for the Central Dandenong site from a short listed pool of four artists. 

Johnson is an accomplished artist who has completed a number of innovative light based artworks in Queensland.  He employed the expertise of Sydney’s Lasercorp lighting technician Glen Turner to develop the laser light animation that operates from Reverie nightly. 

Reverie takes inspiration from the local area and communicates the connection between nature, industry and communities. 

The structural key is Nature (bent grasses/trees) being displaced by Industry (wheel – industry/ manufacturing) which together form the aesthetic and economic platform for Culture (the artwork itself).

The form and the colour red used throughout the work was inspired by the importance of the river red gum in greater Dandenong’s landscape and history; an important symbol that dates back to pre-European settlement.

The ring is symbolic of communities coming together – fragments that make up the whole. Some of the ring fragments are placed into the paving and provide seating, enabling the viewer to look up or down depending on the time of day, and contemplate the piece.

Reveries’ height and elongated form defines the active space as a landmark, it draws the eye skyward while not being obtrusive to traffic and pedestrian site lines.

It commands attention during the day with its contemporary galvanised finish and contrasting red elements and at night engages pedestrian life with it’s vibrant, interactive laser composition.