By NARELLE COULTER
IT WAS with intended irony that Michelle Neal decided to name her Noble Park art installation Ever, knowing full well that it certainly would not last forever.
The Monash University PhD candidate worked with City of Greater Dandenong gardeners last year to plant the living creation in a tilted garden bed facing Heatherton Road.
As the marigolds and salvias grew and eventually flowered they spelt out the word ‘ever’ in brilliant red and yellow blooms.
“I knew that this installation would have a limited time-span.
“The word ‘ever’ suggests a permanence that the flowers and the installation did not offer,” explained Michelle.
“I hoped that as the plants grew, they would lose the form of the letters resulting in the garden bed eventually becoming simply a planting of beautiful red and yellow flowers.
“The word ‘ever’ planted as a short-lived and changing artwork suggests that everything is subject to change and that there is beauty in alternative narratives.”
Michelle was artist-in-residence at Heritage Hill from March to May 2014.
Her studio was in historic Benga House, which is surrounded by an expansive garden.
Michelle said the gardens had a significant impact on her work.
“They became siren-like in their calling and my work became focused on flowers.
“I had been wanting to do a more community-focused work for some time and this residency offered the perfect opportunity.
“Initially I thought the work would be planted within the grounds of Heritage Hill but the head gardener, Stephen Nelson, suggested a garden bed beyond the boundaries of the property and that took the work into a wider community.”
The installation was planted in mid-October.
Michelle’s work explores themes of hierarchies, authority and the bestowment of value.
She works in mediums that best suit her message including omestic materials such as discarded household boxes, clothing and books. Much of her work features text.
Michelle visits the site every couple of weeks and takes photographs to document its development.
“People are chatty in the Dandenong area and many passers-by would comment on the beauty of the flowers.
“For me, this, and working with the gardening team, were the best aspects of the project.”
Michelle said she was impressed with the City of Greater Dandenong’s efforts to foster the arts and an artistic community.
“It can be very isolating being an artist. The council’s establishment of groups like The Hive are great initiatives that bring creative people together.
“By fostering the arts, the council is creating an energy in the city that is wonderful to be a part of.”
