Peter Voice

Pas de Trois 2022

Mixed metals

Total 3 x 4-5m tall pieces approx. 2m apart

$26,000

About the Work

Pas de Trois is inspired by the native Australian terrestrial Caladenia (Spider) orchids that can be found in coastal sand dunes, grasslands and forests all over our country.

The work is a 5-metre-high stylisation in mixed base metals celebrating what is actually a tiny fragile plant that flowers for only two weeks in Spring. It is fabricated from metals designed to react differently to the environment, changing colour and texture over time, the copper will go green, the silver black and some of the steel, red. The ovaries under the flowers conceal custom-made bearings so the flowers’ aerodynamic shapes can gently respond to the wind direction giving them different aspects every time the weather changes.

Pas de Trois aims to remind people of the ephemeral natural treasures that are all around us when we take a little time to look.

About the Artist

Peter Voice is internationally recognised as a pioneer of contemporary “Street Art”, especially trompe l’oeil (3D). In 1984 he became Australia’s first legal pavement/ street artist and over a career spanning more than 35 years, he has created hundreds of ephemeral works for major festivals and special events across four continents. In 1991, he established ‘Chalk Circle’, the world’s first professional ‘Street Art’ troupe whose work still influences street art world-wide. He is also regarded as a key instigator of the WAMA project, a $9m ‘Work in Progress’.

The vast majority of Peter’s work is inspired by nature, from his chalk rosellas, lorikeets and herons on the streets of Melbourne in 1984 to the intricate award-winning paintings and drawing in his studio today. Peter believes public art is a very powerful but quiet way to communicate, generate awareness and conversation. He believes it is an artist’s responsibility to start those conversations.