Eugene Cheah Architecture

FINALIST

‘(Un)veiling’

Tapestry, as a soft woven material, seeks a dialogue with the bush-hammered concrete building fabric that it is hung against. Within the brutal and monolithic concrete walls of the National Gallery of Australia, it is suggestive of the permanence and frozen state of the once fluid material – whilst at the same time evoking the impermanence and transient displays of works of art contained within.

The concrete veil evokes a memory of a space once outdoor, exposed to the environment and elements. A burst of wind billows the fabric challenging the perception of the enclosed space - heightening the tension between the inside and outside, past and present.

The stone and sand aggregate that make up the concrete, are fine pixels of colour in a grey cement matrix. Tapestry is analogous to this, the colour, grain and texture of the concrete aggregate is translated into weft.

A contextual response, the Tapestry sits at the edge of the corner – as if a gust of wind from the void beyond has lifted the concrete fabric of the building.