One of the highlights at the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair in September was a 7-metre-tall tower built entirely of BondorPanel for visitors to get a 360-degree view of the Carriageworks exhibition.
Featuring a medieval style with a slick, early third millennial industrial vernacular, the ‘Tower of Power’ was commissioned by Bondor and designed by Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro. The tower was constructed using 160 building panels with the largest panel reaching 7.7 metres.
Artist Claire Healy said BondorPanel was well suited for the ‘Tower of Power’ due to the product’s many opportunities for wild permutations.
“The innovativeness and versatility of BondorPanel with its matte, off-white extrusions allowed us to effectively transform a utilitarian industrial stalwart into a medieval architectural fantasy,” Healy said.
“The panels can connect via Bondor slip joints, so the individual panels slip and lock in together like a kit – easy to use and creates a strong and seamless finish.
“We can't imagine that the product was ever intended to be used in such a way – but it also reminds us that Bondor is part of a history of construction that dates several millennia back into history,” she added.
Visitors were invited to climb the tower for a 360-degree view of the vast exhibition space; they could also charge their phones while doing so as the tower also functioned as a mobile phone charging site.
Now in its fifth year, the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair features Australia’s largest and most diverse gathering of local and international galleries. Over 90 galleries from around the world showcased the work of more than 400 leading and emerging artists from over 12 countries. This is the third year that the Australian manufacturer and building solutions provider is sponsoring the fair.
Barry Keldoulis, CEO and fair director said Bondor’s involvement has been invaluable to Sydney Contemporary.
“We’re delighted to be working with Bondor again. Their support helps us bring a whole range of artists to Sydney and contributes greatly to the creation of Australasia’s biggest premium art fair,” Keldoulis said.
“We’re particularly excited to see them enable the ‘Tower of Power’ after successful partnerships in 2018 with the Patricia Piccinini on ‘The Field’ installation, and in 2017 with Robyn Stacey on the camera obscura commission ‘Double Take’ for Deutsche Bank.
“Bondor stands out as a company not stuck in a rut of traditional expectation and willing to think creatively and fluidly about how their products can be used,” he said.
Geoff Marsdon, Bondor’s executive general manager said working with the Sydney Contemporary helped the company to test their creative limits.
“Bondor has always been about innovation and incorporating unique functional components in each product we design,” he said.
“We are proud to continue our support of the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair and to play our part in expanding the creative and aesthetic horizons of the Australian community and the built environment,” Marsdon concluded.
Photo credit: (L-R) Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro (Photographer: Ryotaro Kobayashi)
