Lightsite Permanent

On a rich botanical site – one of the locations of the original Lightsite camera obscura – Lightsite Permanent aims to celebrate and expand understandings of Kwongkan heath vegetation, particularly in scenic coastal locations where it is simply overlooked!

Lightsite Permanent is an ‘armature’ – it is a framework around which sculpture is built. The sculptural artwork is thus constituted of two conditions: 1, a concrete viewing enclosure and 2, the Kwongkan on the immediate site and greater landscape.  The concrete enclosure is cast in-situ, off-form concrete and is designed to withstand extreme levels of bushfire attack (BAL-FZ) with zero setback from the fire-prone Kwongkan. Conceived as an uncompromising square (with a somewhat stripped-back classical geometry), its four equal-sized apertures indiscriminately frame four different views of the Kwongkan, capturing both long distance oceans view and more immediate immersed views. 

The temporal dimensions of ‘site’ are explored (say over 100 years) with a structure that withstands and registers change within a landscape that is comparatively dynamic.