Installations

While I Live I Will Grow

Related to City Art
Installed 2018
Green SquareContemporary artArt for kidsPublic art
A bottle tree in a gravel field is surrounded by an expanding spiral of white stones. The stones are large and rectangular, and the spiral has two layers of stones, one resting on the other. The layers are not quite aligned with each other. In the background is a large brick building.
Aerial view of the artwork. A bottle tree planted in a gravel field is surrounded by an expanding spiral of white stones. A shaded playground, a street and a large brick building with solar panels are nearby
A bottle tree in a gravel field is surrounded by an expanding spiral of white stones. The stones are large and rectangular, and the spiral has two layers of stones, one resting on the other. The layers are not quite aligned with each other. Other bottle trees and a playground are nearby.
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The spiral form of this living artwork references growth cycles in nature and the growth of Green Square as a community.

Artist: Maria Fernanda Cardoso
Curator: Amanda Sharrad

Artwork description

While I Live I Will Grow is an installation in the form of a living artwork on the site of the former South Sydney Hospital. It consists of several Queensland bottle trees (Brachychiton rupestris) and a sculpture of sandstone blocks arranged in pairs, one on top of another, in a spiral.

The sculpture’s spiral form represents growth cycles in nature, the growth of Green Square as a community, and the personal growth of individuals, families and children in the area.

While I Live I will Grow connects strongly with the site, which was once part of a series of wetlands that were drained to make way for development and industry, leading to drought and flooding. The bottle trees signify this local history and the water management strategies that are a key aspect of the Green Square renewal project.

Maria Fernanda Cardoso said of her work:

“Part of the brief for the project was to address issues of water management in Green Square. I thought, what could be more physically and formally visible than the shaped trunk of a bottle tree? They expand and contract in times of flood or drought, and they never seem stressed. Not only beautiful, this species has developed a very elegant Australian water management strategy.”

“Bottle trees fascinate me because of their sculptural quality, their character and charm. Their visible growth can also become a visual analogy to the expected growth and maturity of the Green Square community.”

– Maria Fernanda Cardosa

Artist

Maria Fernanda Cardoso was born in Colombia and lives in Sydney. She has a Master’s degree in Sculpture and Installation from Yale University, and is known for her unconventional use of materials and the use of animals as inspiration.

Cardoso has exhibited her work in major museums and galleries in the US, Latin America, Australia and Europe, including Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery in Canberra and the Tate Gallery in London. She has won numerous awards and scholarships, and represented Colombia at the Venice Biennale in 2003.

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