Apparatus for Expedient Market Deployment
Apparatus · Public Art · Beerwah, Queensland
At one time Beerwah was home to hundreds of pineapple farms. The competition was fierce with growers constantly looking for ways to create bigger, sweeter or less spiky fruit. Another important edge was to be ‘first-to-market’, thereby attracting the best price early in the season. In this regard, the years between 1931 and 1957 were dominated by one farmer – ‘Speedy’ Joseph King. He worked his patch solo, never hiring in pickers. One day the field would be full of pineapples, and the next it was empty. No-one ever saw his pineapples leaving the farm, but they were always there at market, ahead of everyone else. Many gossiped about his seemingly mystical gifts, but it wasn’t until the late 1970s' when his property was auctioned by the public trustee that Joe’s secret came to light.
Apparatus for Expedient Market Deployment is fabricated from both new materials and found objects. It incorporates RGB lighting and sensors which interact with pedestrians. The entire work is scattered on both sides of the street: as well as the pictured component there are four more smaller artworks.
The story draws upon the local history and industry of the town of Beerwah as it tells a fictional story of machine-assisted pineapple harvesting.
- Client
- Sunshine Coast Council
- Location
- Beerwah, Queensland
- Dimensions
- 2100 H × 2000 L × 1200 W mm
- Drawn
- February 2014
- Completed
- 2014
- Materials
- Stainless steel in polished, satin and hammered finishes; rusted mild steel; patinated copper and cast bronze; machined aluminium; reeded acrylic spheres; reworked found objects; LEDs
- Photos
- Alan Warren
