TWT Property Group has commissioned renowned international contemporary artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso to create a new series of sculptures crafted from TWT’s significant find of ‘yellow block’ Sydney sandstone in Pyrmont.
Ms Cardoso, born in Colombia and based in Sydney, will create a series of sculptures from blocks of sandstone – some weighing up to twelve tonnes – that have been quarried by TWT from 15 layers on the site of its upcoming NewLife Pyrmont development of 11 high-end terraces located at 63-67 Harris Street.
NewLife Pyrmont architects Jackson Teece, working with interior designers DBI, are also incorporating the sandstone blocks into the design of the terraces.
TWT has spent the past six months harvesting the sandstone from the Pyrmont site, yielding approximately 4,000 cubic-metres of the unique Sydney yellow sandstone.
TWT Property General Manager Stephen Fitzpatrick commented: “With Pyrmont recognized as the location of the best quality yellow block sandstone in Sydney, it was important to TWT to preserve this historically significant find of sandstone.
“Our excavated sandstone will be returned to its place of origin at the hands of renowned Sydney artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso and through our work with architects Jackson Teece as part of our NewLife Pyrmont terraces,” added Mr Fitzpatrick.
Aside from the sandstone used in the development and for art sculptures, around half of the quarried sandstone is earmarked for the New South Wales government-operated Minister’s Stonework Program, responsible for keeping the city’s sandstone buildings in mint condition.
TWT’s sandstone extraction was rushed to the aid of the Government’s Stonework Program and immediately used to help restore iconic Sydney public buildings such as Sydney Hospital, the State Library and the Australian Museum.
The State’s supplies of sandstone for this program were severely depleted before this significant extraction of the quintessentially Sydney building material.
Bundanoon Stone’s Troy Stratti, responsible for overseeing the extraction of the sandstone, added: “Sandstone really had run out until this opportunity became available. You need a very special developer who is willing to come and harvest this sandstone – it takes time, time is valuable for developers, that’s why we’re thankful to TWT for allowing us to get this stone out.”
Maria Fernanda Cardoso was selected from a list of leading Australian artists invited to provide a proposal for the sandstone artwork commissions. Maria Fernanda Cardoso’s proposal was selected by TWT as the most outstanding site-specific concept reflecting the beauty and importance of the sandstone.
Ms Cardoso’s series of sculptures, titled Stone Drawings, will transform the stone blocks into unique artworks to honour the history of the site: “These permanent hand-drawn artworks carved in local sandstone acknowledge the impact of human intervention on the site by individually carving each of the rough hewn blocks. Similar to a paper drawing, the stone line drawings will show the expression of the hand of the artist on the stone, with all their subtle variations and unique characters,” said Ms Cardoso.
