Swellstone

Artwork description

This bulbous sandstone water feature is made from a piece of sandstone originally quarried on the Pyrmont Peninsula and previously used as the base of a column on the Pyrmont Bridge. It features a square basin carved into the upper part with text describing the former natural spring which inspired it engraved on the lower curved surface.

Surrounding the swellstone set in the grass and gravel are 3 L-shaped stone seats. Water fills the basin from a pipe concealed in the centre of the sandstone and slowly swells over the circular rim, covering the lettering and seeping into the gravel below.

The water drains through the gravel and is collected in a water reservoir below ground to be pumped into the sculpture again.  

The sculpture draws inspiration from a natural spring that once existed on the Pyrmont Peninsula, known locally as Tinkers Well. The spring was significant in the area for its high quality of water and its ceaseless trickle in times of drought. The Gadigal people had carved a roughly square-shaped basin in the stone to collect the water.

This basin was later enlarged by local quarry workers. The square-shaped basin in the Swellstone sculpture refers to this feature of the original spring. Text engraved over the surface of the sculpture is derived from articles in local gazettes from early this century, which describe the spring. Broken into single words and short phrases, the inscriptions become a never-ending poem, echoed by the constant ripples of water passing over them.

The sculpture’s title is a play on repeating ‘Tinkers Well’ over and over until the word ‘swell’ appears. As the piece of sandstone looks swollen in shape, and the water swells over the rim, ‘Swellstone’ seems appropriate.