Art Pharmacy were contacted by the Dexus’ marketing team for an exciting new project in September 2018. Having worked with the wider Dexus team in the early days of Art Pharmacy, we were now being asked to help the team with a lobby refresh.
The aim was to help the asset manager ‘solve’ the problem of a large, blank marble wall, positioned high above a cafe space, in the lobby of Dexus’ 175 Pitt Street property in the Sydney CBD.
The project consisted of coming forward with a selection of artists, and to ultimately choose one to create artwork(s) for the wall. This project was to support Dexus’ longterm goal of keeping in with the pre-approved interior concept and pre-existing visual cues for this Dexus property, while refreshing the space.
Once the artists and the artist’s narrative for the artwork was approved by the client, Art Pharmacy Consulting was to guide the artist in the creation before organising installation at 175 Pitt Street.
Using a pre-existing furniture and interior guide provided by the Dexus team, Art Pharmacy Consulting set to work creating a brief for 12 potential artists. The site’s location near the Tank Stream – a now underground water source that formed a central part of Sydney’s Indigenous and colonial history that still flows nearby – brought up narrative ideas of fertility, place-relevant history and water.
From the 12 proposed by Art Pharmacy Consulting the Dexus team were immediately drawn to the work of Nicole Chaffey. Chaffey, an Aboriginal woman, is a descendant of the Gadigal people of Sydney and the Biripi nation of the mid north coast of NSW. As an artist whose work explores aspects mapping, family ties and nature. Once the project was approved, Chaffey created two custom made canvases (each 3 meters by 3 meters), entitled “Flow North”, which references the building’s location, as well as its Indigenous and natural ties.
Art Pharmacy is a full service art strategy and culture agency. Our Art Consultants are here to plan, manage and deliver creative projects that culturally enrich spaces and tell interesting stories using high- quality Australian art.
“Fun fact: the works were so large that Nicole couldn’t fit them in her studio!”
