This is a simple idea. Playing with ideas of micro and macro Tide expresses the flow and ebb of the Brisbane River. The sculpture engages on an intimate level and from afar.

The artwork is essentially a stainless steel sphere which provides a slightly distorted reflection of the surrounding Brisbane CBD and the ever changing Queensland sky. As one moves closer to the piece, the reflections of the viewer in the space become more apparent and the subtle reflective differences in the mirror polished steel also reveal themselves.

The reflective qualities of the sphere ensure that the artwork itself is constantly changing with the light conditions and surrounding activity.

The reflective qualities of the sphere ensure that the artwork itself is constantly changing with the light conditions and surrounding activity.

Tide is continuously engaging and the experience of the observer changes as you move closer. It begins as a large object in an open space providing a focal point to the piazza. It is a portal and a mirror reflecting the immediate architectural surroundings, nature, one’s own reflection and in turn one’s relationship with oneself and river.

It is both an analogy to the built environment and the ever changing weather conditions. The closer you look the more you find. On a first glance one sees thin shards of light on the the surface of the sphere. Look through these ripples and one sees a world within a world. 

Suggestions of water can be made, one can see these reflections but one cannot touch them. They are tangible and intangible, both solid and fluid. Connections between the micro and the macro are suggested as are notions of absence and presence.

Hidden and discrete LED lighting is contained within the inner sphere. The higher the tide from the Brisbane River the more intense the light. Full and low tide are expressed as light shadows on the ground.