Annette Blair’s 1800 handmade glass leaves now hang in the Australian War Memorial in a permanent art installation. Photo: Adam McGrath for Canberra Glassworks.
When she was commissioned to create artwork for the newly refurbished Australian War Memorial, Annette Blair knew she wanted to bring more than beauty to the space.
The resulting artworks – Quiet Skies, as the sun rises and Quiet Skies, as the sun sets – were recently installed in the main entrance of the AWM.
From her Burra home, near Queanbeyan, she was inspired by gum trees.
“The eucalypt leaves were a reference to something that’s uniquely Australian,” said Ms Blair.
“As we started to research it a little bit more, we found out about things like the eucalypt leaves that were sent to the front lines by loved ones so that the soldiers could smell the scent of the leaves and be reminded of home.
“They regenerate after bushfires and they’re very hardy. They embody the spirit of Australians.”
Once the design was finalised, Ms Blair pitched the design to the AWM in August last year and got to work creating each piece.
“For such a large scale project, it all came about really fast,” she said.
“We had to get into the studio pretty quickly and start making all the pieces and figuring out how it was going to actually work!”
Each piece is made of about 900 handcrafted glass leaves, designed by Ms Blair and fabricated in Canberra Glasswork’s studio in Kingston.
“They’re what we call solid forms, so they’re not blown glass,” she said.
“We gather hot glass out of the furnace, which is clear, and shape it into the leaf.”
She worked with up to five artists to create around 1800 pieces needed for the two artworks, which were designed to mirror each other.
“I didn’t want to create two really different works – I wanted to create two that spoke to each other,” she says.
“In preparing the concept, [I realised] the two stairwells run east-west, so I was thinking about the idea of the sunrise and the sunset as a metaphor for remembrance and new beginnings and hope.”
Once the glass leaves were fabricated, they were taken to the AWM to be installed above the two spiral staircases – a process that took about a week.
“All of the leaves were strung on stainless steel cable beforehand, and we had mapped it out where each one was going to hang on the ceiling,” she said.
“It was just a matter of safely – and carefully – getting them all up there. We didn’t have a space that big at the Canberra Glassworks so we weren’t able to test-hang the whole thing.
“It was quite a relief when they were up and we could experience it properly.”
For Ms Blair, it was important for Quiet Skies to become a “space to remember” the experiences of veterans and servicepeople still serving.
“I’m hopeful that some people will walk underneath it and think it’s something beautiful for the space, and others might spend a bit more time there reflecting and remembering loved ones or people who fought in wars,” she said.
Quiet Skies is on permanent display at the Australian War Memorial.
If this story has raised any issues or caused distress, contact Open Arms on 1800 011 046 or visit Open Arms, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 or by visiting Lifeline.
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