Right up our alley
January 15, 1998
Nothing could be less like an art gallery setting than Citylights, the alley off Centre Place. As you view the art on the back wall of a building, workers from nearby cafes come to scrape leftovers into rubbish bins. Andrew Mac's Shady Lane is a one‑liner but perhaps an appropriate quick take, given that public art spaces rely on chance viewings by passing shoppers and office workers during the normal activity of the day. Art in public settings has to compete with advertising, and it needs to take on some of its techniques to avoid being overlooked.
There needs to be some visual impact or means of attracting curiosity.
Shady Lane is a simple pun on the unlikely setting. The title plays on associations with shady characters and dark alleys. The images, however, are lush, green landscapes of the picture postcard variety. The cool and tranquil beauty of botanic gardens, European trees and a garden of hydrangeas are framed by the wrought iron light spanning the space, the only attractive feature of the alley. The image of 19th century‑designed botanic gardens has the sense of ordered beauty against the clutter of bins and crates.
Writer: Anita Bragge