work / MELWAY PROJECT 2009/10
Commissioned by The City of Melbourne 2009 - installed in the central staircase of The Melbourne Town Hall
My work explores readymade abstract forms or incidental abstract elements that exist in the urban landscape. I am attracted to particular forms - loaded forms - that trigger memories of locations and events or have the ability to place the viewer within specific timeframes. With this commission, my intention was to associate/locate the work specifically within The City of Melbourne. I began this project by researching Melbourne’s maps and boundaries in the State Library and came across an early edition of a Melway ‘Greater Melbourne’ directory. The cover image seemed familiar though I had never seen that particular edition before. It was an early copy from around the late 1960’s. This began my interest in the cover designs of the Melway street directory and specifically that communal relationship almost all Melburnians have to this much loved book.
I seached the library and the internet collating the entire set of Melway Directories from 1966 through to 2008. I was amazed at the way each new directory expanded upon the previous edition. As the city grew, new suburbs were mentioned and new streets and expressways were included. In 1969 house numbers were added, 1977 saw RSL’s and Kindergartens included. The change to metric occurred in 1979, in 1982 bicycle paths were introduced and 1994 saw Citylink included and so on. These books are not only laden with historical references to Melbourne but in themselves are reminders of who we were and where we have come from. There is a wonderful utilitarian aspect to them as functional products, as well as a collective consciousness of them as tactile objects – most Melbournians have had to handle them at some point to navigate through the city. This was evident in many of the early copies I handled at the State Library, some had been handled so much that the covers had literally separated from the book.
My paintings in this project resonate with their subtle hints to the city’s history and operate as a metaphor for the changing face of Melbourne. With the accompanying titles stating the year by year changes to the city, the works could also be read as literal narratives. After further investigation into this project I was reminded of a much earlier work of mine from early 2001 when I used a cover of a Melway directory (Edition 22, 1993) as part of ‘Brunswick Journal #2, 2002’ (The Lyon Collection). Earlier images can percolate for years before manifesting themselves as an entirely new group of work. These works will stand alone as a compelling group of paintings, referencing as they do beautiful Modernist designs of Melway covers from the 1960’s onwards, with their flat Mondrian inspired planes of colour hinting at borders or boundaries and later on as they evolve, to streets and expressways.
1966, Original Edition, $2.50. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #2, 1967. Fine new map of central city. Revised and up-to-date. The ideal guide for visitors to Melbourne. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #4, 1970. Alternative routes shown. House numbers marker on long roads.Features postcode boundaries, future freeways and tram stop numbers. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #5, 1971. New features - Caravan Parks, Croquet Clubs, Fire Stations, Ice Skating Rinks, Post Offices and Public Weighbridges. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #10, 1977. New features - 36 new maps, 740 Kindergartens and 112 RSL Clubs. Special features - Intersections controlled by traffic lights maked on map with a purple disc. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #11, 1978. New features - Over 800 new streets. Introducing new suburbs Keilor Downs and Taylors Lakes. Westgate Freeway now the new name for former Lower Yarra Freeway. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #16, 1986. 9 new maps including Warburton. Inner City maps and bicycle paths. Victorian Arts Center enlarged map. New public transport section. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #20, 1990. 28 new maps, Yarra Glen and Phillip Island. Central City mobility map. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #21, 1991/1992. New features - Bus routes. Maps: Angesea, Gisborne, Kinglake, St Andrews, Wallan. Touring maps: Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney. Australia Map. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #22, 1993. 36 new maps including CBD access and bypass routes, Melbourne Airport, Springvale and Fawkner Crematoriums. 14 new key maps. Existing maps fully updated. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #23, 1994. New features - 24 new maps, new double page map of Victoria. Boundaries for new Inner City Councils. All maps totally revised and updated. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #24, 1995. Enlarged CBD maps, 9 new maps. Fire, water and electricity authority boundaries. Citylink. New Councils boundaries. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #30, 2003. 13 new maps including Federation Square. Over 1200 new streets. New map of shared bicycle road routes. Dog prohibited areas. 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Edition #31, 2004. GPS compatable. Electronis data available - www.melway.com.au 2009
Acrylic on plywood
33cm x 33cm
Melway Project 2009
Installation - Melway Project 2009
Reference forms for 'Melway Project' 2009
First work that used a Melway Cover - 'Melway Cover, Brunswick, February 9th 2001' from 'Brunswick Journal #2' 2001. (collection Corbett and Yueji Lyon) 2001