Ayob in Moorabool Shire: Singapore/Moorabool Diary #2

Ayob bin Ismail gets to know one of the locals

A quick reminder...
Ayob bin Ismail has travelled from Singapore to Ballan, a regional town in Moorabool Shire in Victoria, Australia, for a four-week residency and internship. The visit is being generously supported by Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design), Wombat Regional Arts Network and by Velislav Georgiev and Tor Roxburgh's public art business Zabelski Han and their gallery studio complex Omnibus Art Gallery.

Tuesday 2nd June...
Velislav and Ayob worked on the storage seats in the studio. The seats have been commissioned by Moorabool Shire to house the new street chess pieces in Inglis Street, Ballan. Ayob and Velislav have selected Merbau for the top and the two short sides of these rectangular seats. The frames will be fabricated from stainless steel and the long sides will feature perforated stainless steel panels.

The design intention is elegance, simplicity and the ability to cope with windy, rainy winters and dry summers. Aesthetically, the priority is to avoid detracting from the adjacent sculpture by Peter Blizzard. Today the timber was cut to size and the seats were rough assembled to ensure the chess pieces fitted inside.

Rough assembly of the storage seat frame to check capacity.

During the working day Ayob took time to tour Ballan's existing windart to help him refine his thinking about the piece of windart he will make and donate to Moorabool Shire.

The Connoisseur by Velislav Georgiev. Copyright 2009.

The Mayor of Moorabool has already accepted Ayob's gift to the people of Moorabool and discussions about installation have begun. But before the work can be installed it has to be made and before it can be made Ayob must be completely satisfied with his design. And before the design is finalised he wants to look at the potential sites and the region's landscape. So Ayob and Velislav walked around town in the afternoon and then went for a quick tour of the region. ...And they spotted a very tame kookaburra during their travels.

The tame kookaburra

Wednesday 3rd June...
Last night Ayob sketched out his thoughts for his windart project. Today he worked on creating a model in the studio. Velislav continued work on the storage seats. And me? I was in the office in Melbourne catching up on the status of some forthcoming projects to create sculptural signage for three rural towns in Northern Victoria.

Thursday 4th June...
Velislav and Ayob joined me in Melbourne today. Velislav needed to pick up some cypress for another commission for Moorabool Shire Council: three picnic table and seat sets. Ayob wanted to re-visit his old school: RMIT. He told us that a great deal had changed in the years since he graduated. Most notable was the absence of the generous print shop that used to give away drawing paper to the art students and the changing nature of student accommodation.

Ayob travelled back to Ballan by train while Velislav and I finished up some work in the city.

Oh... and the rattan arrived from Queensland. Now that the wire frames are finished and the rattan has arrived Meow... Purr can move to the next stage.

Friday 5th June...
We arrived back in Ballan with the trailer full of cypress. Ayob had made great progress with his windart model and with Meow... Purr.

In the afternoon, Councillor Phil Flack visited the studio and invited Ayob to be his guest at the opening of the Bacchus Marsh Rotary Art Show (Bacchus Marsh is about 23km east of Ballan and is the largest town in the Shire). The Rotary Art Show is an annual charity event that is very popular in the Shire. The artworks tend to be fairly traditional and representational, but the show is an inclusive event open to both professional and amateur artists. The Rotary Club of Bacchus Marsh is part of a worldwide organisation that provides "humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world." (RCBM, Annual report).

Saturday 6th June...
Today was a big day. Wombat held a welcoming party for Ayob at Omnibus Art Gallery. In the afternoon, before the party commenced, Moorabool Culture and Arts Officer Sue Jones dropped into the studio with Adam Harding, the Director of the Horsham Regional Art Gallery to say hello to Ayob as they were unable to come to the party.

A surprise studio visit. L-R Sue Jones (Moorabool Shire Culture and Arts Officer), Ayob bin Ismail, and Adam Harding (Director Horsham Regional Art Gallery)

At 4pm the guests began to arrive. It was a wonderful event. Ayob was formally welcomed by the Deb Oliver the president of Wombat Regional Arts Network. She presented Ayob with a gift for Nanyang Polytechnic (School of Design).