Untitled - Sculptural Planter Box
Robin Blau (Born 1946)

Materials: welded, fabricated & waxed mild steel sheet and solid rods
Date: 2008

Artist’s Statement:

The abstracted sculptural form of the site-specific planter box for this special Japanese Maple tree arises from the image, familiar to all Australians, of the twigs and sticks which fall around the base of each eucalypt tree in the forest, creating a three-dimensional ‘web’ of linear elements.

The large planter box was designed to be assembled around an internal structural frame from smaller components capable of being moved into the enclosed court through the small hinged window providing the only access. The mild steel sheet and rods from which the planter box is constructed have been surface- rusted, followed by hand-waxing with a very old metalworkers’ recipe of pure beeswax, turpentine and lavender oil. This creates a changing burnished surface which matures and ages gracefully over time.