Whirligigs by Tess Horwitz and Tony Steel was designed to create a dynamic atmosphere in Civic Square on London Circuit, Canberra City for the arrival of the Olympic torch in the year 2000. With extraordinarily short notice the artists designed the work 13 weeks before the torch arrival and started construction only 8 weeks before, solving aerodynamic and safety issues for a large audience and Civic Square’s ‘wind tunnel’. The giant metal and plastic forms referenced the Olympic rings, and their festive colour and whirling movement in the wind activated an otherwise quiet Square. In 2001 the metal components of this public artwork were moved to the Faculty of Design courtyard and rear entrance of the C.I.T. building in Constitution Avenue, Reid.
Materials: steel, foamboard, automotive paint.
