I'm posting a little later than usual because I've been trying to find some information about this sculpture (with no luck so far).
We were at Kippax today to do some banking and go to the post office. Kippax isn't actually a suburb, it's a 'Group Centre'. Canberra's a bit different to many other cities: there are suburbs, each containing their small local shopping centre - perhaps a bakery, a professional office such as a doctor or dentist, a pharmacy, a takeaway, a small supermarket, etc. - and there are the Town Centres with their larger shopping malls, large libraries, colleges (in Canberra a college is for the last two years of secondary schooling), many more professional offices and so on. In between are the Group Centres, which service a group of surrounding suburbs. This is where you find most of the banks, post offices, larger supermarkets and specialist shops - the type of place you might do your weekly grocery shopping. Some of the Group Centres have their own names, distinct from the suburb they're actually located within, and that's the situation with Kippax. It's located within the suburb of Holt, but services most of West Belconnen (and the next step up is Belconnen Town Centre). Confused? It all makes perfect sense when you live here!
Anyway, this sculpture is located right next to Kippax Library, and there's some more of it at the other end of the building. I've no idea what it's called, but as all public art in the past decade or two is supposed to have a plaque with its details installed as the same time as the artwork, there's probably an explanation somewhere nearby. I'll go hunting next time I'm there and see what I can find.
4 comments:
I lived in Canberra from 1974 to 1978. It has changed a fair bit since then. Of course, I have been back to the gallery etc, but you don't see details like how people actually live in our national capital.
Yes - most of the areas people live in are quite sheltered from visitors, and turned in on themselves. I've heard visitors say they can't find shops and petrol stations, because they're not on the main roads like in other cities. I hope this blog will let people see a bit more of the day-to-day of life in Canberra.
Yes, I used to have that problem with petrol stations, but I no longer drive ...
The name got my attention, Kippax is also a village here in Leeds, Yorkshire. I also used to have a work colleague whose family name was Kippax, her family lived in the village. All I know of Canberra is what Bill Bryson wrote of it in his book about his travels in Australia.
Paul at Leeds daily photo
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