Montague Markets – 405 Montague, Brisbane – Pradella, 2020

The Montague Markets sit on Montague Road, a major arterial road in the West End/Kurilpa peninsula. The hub provides retail shopping, offices, community spaces, restaurants with alfresco dining, and residences; from September 2020, it also includes a new public artwork titled Rivervine, which has been installed to the facade of the building facing Tondara Lane. Themes and concepts for significant public art in this precinct were developed by CREATIVEMOVE from 2017 to 2020, working with The Pradella Group and artist Jennifer Marchant.

The natural landscape that once covered this peninsula consisted of dense rainforest and riparian floodplains, with the Turrbal and Jagera peoples being the traditional (Aboriginal) custodians. European settlement since the mid-1800s has seen the peninsula rapidly changing to support the growth of the City. The purpose of this artwork commission contributes significantly to the idea of a“healthy, innovative, community urban backyard”. The project melds specific aspects of the history of the precinct, including the history of occupation of the site and surrounds; contemporary ideas behind Pradella’s ‘urban backyards’;Brisbane’s New World City outlook; and university research and medical achievements in the development of new healing medicines.

Jennifer Marchant has been working as an artist/designer for 30 years within the fields of graphic design and the built environment. She has qualifications in both visual communication and interior design from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, and QUT. However, it is her commissioned artworks that have come to reshape our readings of the public domain. These commissions, which feature sophisticated and poignant text-based and graphic work, chart a commanding visual space in the extremely complex semiotic field of our contemporary public realm.

This public art integration of Rivervine in the Tondara laneway elevates an essential space. Inspired by the dangling convolvulus flowering creeping plants that fall in an irregular and organic manner, the varying angles and crossovers mean the shadows created are dynamic and add to the visual depth of the work. This lane not only provides important ‘back of house’ services to the Montague Markets but has also been designed by The Pradella Group and the project team to create a connected and enclosed public space that residents, visitors and nearby office workers can use as a ‘break-out’ recreational space. It has also been designed so that it can be closed off for street markets or other community-based events.

CREATIVEMOVE Directors John Stafford and Jodie Cox would like to sincerely congratulate artist Jennifer Marchant and developer Pradella. Thank you to all collaborators on the project: DCO Consulting, Genfab Engineering, Regan Crook Studio, Brisbane Precast, CV Services.

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