Hickory has unveiled a new artwork designed by Alexander Knox sitting in the atrium of its new Market Lane development which was designed by Elenberg Fraser in South Melbourne.

The artwork, titled Joy to Mortals, is made of dichroic glass and is suspended above the atrium. It is directly inspired by Greek mythology, the structure illuminates the office building and rounds out the art series at Market Lane.

Knox has carved out a reputation for himself for creating striking and intriguing visuals. His work is featured in various collections including at the National Gallery of Victoria, RMIT University and Arts ACT.

“This was one of those great projects where you have a fantastic site, in the five-story atrium of Hickory’s headquarters and a client that’s prepared to trust you with an ambitious vision,” Knox says.

“I keyed into Greek mythology with an abstraction of Zeus’ destruction of Helios’ Sun Chariot. This mythic event is abstracted into a sun-catching sculpture that uses curved metallic surfaces and dichroic glass to create a constantly changing lighting effect. It’s effectively a hybrid sculpture of the material and the ephemeral.”

Sarah Ritson is the art consultant for the project.

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“It has been an absolute pleasure working with Alexander Knox and the team at Hickory to realise this exceptional outcome,” she says.

“Alexander has responded to the architecture of Market Lane by Elenberg Fraser and the brief perfectly.”

Joy to Mortals finds its origins in the ancient story of Phaethon, who borrowed a sun chariot from his father and sun god Helios. Unable to control the chariot’s reins, Phaethon accidentally freezes and then burns the earth, before Zeus strikes Phaethon with a single lightning bolt, bringing his disastrous journey to an end. The artwork captures this mythic cataclysm with a series of optical fragments embodying the deconstructed sun chariot and floating debris.

The piece sits between Market Lane’s two predominant buildings, utilising the natural light to make sunlight visible through controlled spotlights to add a pop of colour and intrigue. The forms of work add to the visual connectivity of the space, capturing the sun’s light and its changing effects even when the sun is not active.

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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