William Barak
March 6, 2015 § 6 Comments
Wurundjeri Elder Alice Kolasa, my wife Cinzia Ruffilli and I with the “Portrait Building” in the distance.
Last night Cinzia and I, attended along with Wurundjeri Elders and community, and many other invited guests, the official launch by Grocon Construction Company of their 85 meter tall apartment building. The launch took place on the 12th floor of the new Westpac Building from which we gained a spectacular view of the “Portrait Building” seen in the distance in the image above.
ARM architects who designed this building were inspired by a portrait study in clay that I made for the sculpture of William Barak that I am currently working on. The portrait is created by modulating the shape of the white balconies against the dark colour of the windows. The gigantic scale of this portrait in the Melbourne skyline not only sets it apart as an iconic structure but as well is an extraordinary acknowledgment of this city’s indigenous history and a tribute to William Barak and the Wurundjeri. Congratulations to all at Grocon for this visionary building…the first of its kind in the world!
Most Saturday mornings Cinzia and I go to the Vic Market to do our shopping, it’s amazing to think that something I have done with my hands in clay overlooks this city!
Peter Schipperheyn Sculptor 
It’s looks wonderful Pete. Looking forward to when your large sculpture of Barak will stand proudly for all to see.
Ciao Elly
Hi Elly, thanks and great to hear from you!
Complimenti Peter! Un abbraccio, Neil
Salve Neil, la mia testa e’ cresciuta un po’!
congratulations Peter! It’s lovely to see your inspiring works of art used in different mediums and on such a grand scale. WOW!
Hi Antonia, Thanks!