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

My photo
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.

WOOLLOOMOOLOO FINGERWHARF

Plein air oil painting of crane at Woolloomooloo Wharves by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
WB2 'Ned Kelly Crane Woolloomooloo Bay'
1987 oil on board  59 x 24cm
Enquiries  :

























 
 
One of a pair of cranes that was at Woolloomooloo Bay until late 1989. 
I don't know its real name, but I always called it the 'Ned Kelly' Crane The two windows have a  baleful stare reminding me of Sid Nolan's paintings of the notorious outlaw.  
It was removed and taken to East Darling Harbour Wharf 8, until it was replaced by 'Big Bird' (Liebherr crane 1) and later 2 other cranes, in the early 1990s.
I loved watching the Woolloomooloo Bay Cranes from a long skinny window at the north-eastern end of the Art Gallery of N.S.W. This room contained Australian paintings from the 1940's to the 1960's, and the cranes were a wonderful backdrop to the dour images of wharfies by Noel Counihan, Jeffrey Smart's urban landscapes, - and appropriately, a few Sid Nolans.

Redevelopment of the Fingerwharf
After staying derelict for several decades, the Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf and the former dockyard were re-developed into a complex of hotels, luxury apartments, restaurants and marinas between 1997 - 1999.
The Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf and Walsh Bay Wharves symbolized Sydney as a working port and have become yet another victim of urban consolidation, either demolished or redeveloped into apartments for the benefit of the urban elite. 
The Sydney Fingerwharves were built of turpentine, which would be impossible today as the forests are gone.

Plein air oil painting of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'The Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf
from Harry de Wheels'
1999 acrylic on canvas 25 x 20 cm 
The exterior of the Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf is familiar to anyone who has visited the Art Gallery of N.S.W., but a tour of the interior is a far stranger prospect.

Plein air charcoal drawing of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'Interior, Fingerwharf'
1998 charcoal drawing on paper 104 x 122cm 
FINALIST - 2000 Grafton Drawing Prize  
COLLECTION : RELEGEN DOCKYARDS

Plein air ink drawing of  interior of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett

Interior Fingerwharf' 1998 
ink drawing on paper 56 x 76cm  
WINNER - 2000 Royal Easter Show Drawing Prize  

Plein air oil painting of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'Crane, Fingerwharf' 1999  
Oil on board 27.5x 37.5 cm 
Enquiries  :

Plein air oil painting of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'Tower Crane 6 '
1999 oil on canvas 61 x 30 cm
Enquiries  :

Plein air oil painting of interior of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'Interior, Fingerwharf, with reflections' 
1998 Oil on board 28 x 34cm
Rusting machinery, shadowed stairways and fragile bridges arching over the cavernous interior evoked the atmosphere of Piranesi’s  “Carceri” etchings.
The central street of the Fingerwharf was enclosed by a 14 metre high roof  and illuminated by fleeting shafts of light from above, earning the nickname of the “Cathedral of Commerce”.
By coincidence, the Fingerwharf workmen actually used the terms “Nave” & “Transept”, words used to describe the architecture of cathedrals.
Plein air oil painting of interior of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'Interior, Fingerwharf ' 1999
oil on canvas 30 x 15 cm  
That the location was real, not imaginary, & at the decisive point of transformation, added poignancy.   
Plein air oil painting of interior of Woolloomooloo Fingerwharf during redevelopment by artist Jane Bennett
'Interior, Fingerwharf' 1999  
Oil on board 122 x 41cm
I chose  a haunting moment of stillness amidst the construction turmoil.
A shaft of light pierced the darkness while bulldozers lurked at the entrance.
The floor was continually hosed to damp down the construction dust, so that it would reflect patches of sky and the gaudy vermilion of the workmen’s fluoro vests.

No comments: