Eyelash Gate

'Eyelash' - Westfield Centrepoint by Simon Perry. Installed in Castlereagh Laneway within Sydney's Westfield Centrepoint Shopping centre the theme of the work engages with the function of the site as a fashion retail centre with its themes of grooming, display, dressing, cosmetics and exchange. It also makes a formal connection between traditional iron gate structures and the structure of a false eyelash. The design playfully combines these themes with a functional gate design that addresses the pragmatics of the space through creating a movable barrier that can safely close off the laneway when required whilst also allowing for free pedestrian movement through the space when open. The Eyelash Gate also acknowledges the act of looking. Looking through the eye towards the gate and looking through the gate to the laneway space beyond. When open, the structure is permeable and allows for views through the artwork to either side of the laneway. Westfield is a leader in the commissioning of high quality site specific artworks for their retail environments, they commissioned Urban Art Projects to develop a visionary curatorial rationale for the entire art program for Westfield, connecting spaces and people, culture and commerce. Perry was one of a number of high profile international artists commisioned by UAP. Others include Ned Kahn and Carsten Holler and Oliver Van De Berg. The Interntionally renowned architect John Wardle was on the judging panel that selected the Art work. This project represents part of Perry's original research into the materiality of sculptural relief in relation to the historical, technological and theoretical context of the city and contributes to his investigation into questions around how art may reconfigure urban experience in response to the effects of technologically instigated spatial and temporal compression.