Inspiration

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In February 2011, Margaret was accepted by the School of Visual and Performing Arts, Launceston, University Of Tasmania and enrolled in their 18 month Master of Contemporary Art (MCA) course.

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In deciding what subject to study she remembered that the landscape viewed from an airplane of Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) in Gladstone, Central Queensland, had always interested her and she chose this as her subject as she felt it would be a fascinating and challenging project.

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The viewed landscape is amazing, shapes and patterns of a world heritage site are seen in close proximity to the fifth largest Alumina refinery in the world.

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The refinery is Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL); the South Trees wharf is within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

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The Musclemen Series

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Margaret kept going back to the tank shapes and the flanges as they fascinated her. She looked at photos of the refinery and began a new series of drawings. She developed 10 of these drawing and these shapes developed a cartoon like appearance with personality and were nicknamed ‘Musclemen’. The musclemen put in groups began to form a refinery of shapes.  

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See the drawings and Musclemen Series drawings here.

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Clive Rouse fabricated the sculptures from aluminium using a variety of processes, welding, turning and bending the pipes.

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Rosemary Anderson, a then member of the Turtleway Artscape Committee, saw the original exhibition at The Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum and suggested the Enviro, one of the Musclemen would work well as a full scale art piece in a position near the Boyne river.

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The larger sculpture was built using the small Enviro as the maquette. 

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Rosemary also added what she thought people would be able to see in the design. 

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