The Earthwork sculpture is buried in Commonwealth Park. Photo: ArchivesACT.
The 38th Floriade is just around the corner.
And yes, there will be new themes and flower patterns and stallholders. But even as the gardeners at Commonwealth Park add the finishing touches ahead of opening – you might be thinking you’ve seen it all before.
But there’s something else in Commonwealth Park almost no Canberran has ever seen before. And it’s meant to be that way.
Earthwork is a sculpture by Austrian-born artist Herbert (Bert) Flugelman, installed in Commonwealth Park as part of the Australia ’75 exhibition in 1975.
The Earthwork sculpture in Commonwealth Park with artist Bert Flugelman. Photo: Australian Information Service.
And as the name suggests, it’s a work in the earth. Literally buried. Somewhere.
Photos from the time show the series of large shiny metal tetrahedrons in a large ditch, with bobcats dumping loads of soil on top of it.
And the point? Art things.
Flugelman reportedly said afterward that if he explained why he buried Earthwork, “the whole point would be lost”.
The National Capital Authority (NCA), which looks after Commonwealth Park on behalf of the Federal Government – and alone knows the sculpture’s exact location – made a presentation earlier this year as part of the ACT Heritage Festival and posted a few theories.
It suggested Flugelman was interested in emphasising the inevitable decay and transformation of the artwork over time.
And he buried the sculpture to “make a moment out of it and to leave that question in the air hanging: Does it still exist? Is it a sculpture if it’s buried and we can’t see it?”
Bert Flugelman poses next to his work Cones. Photo: National Gallery of Australia.
Flugelman was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1923, but when his parents tried to flee to Australia during the rise of the Nazis, he was almost left behind.
Reportedly, after queuing for three days for the train leaving Vienna, the young Flugelman was initially turned away for not having the right papers. Only when his uncle intervened and told the guards they were supposed to be getting rid of Jews, was he allowed to board.
Bert’s first job in Australia was as a jackaroo on a sheep station, followed by a stint with the Australian Army towards the tail end of World War II in 1943 to 1946 (being a foreign national, he wasn’t allowed to fight).
Bert Flugelman’s Cones in the National Gallery of Australia’s Sculpture Garden. Photo: Marg Wade.
He studied art at the National Art School in Sydney, but when a fire in his studio destroyed most of his work, he pivoted towards sculpture.
His first commission was by an Australian oil company in 1962, followed by others including a bronze sculpture for UNSW in 1964 and a copper and ceramic fountain for the Australian National University (ANU) in 1966.
But the works he’s perhaps best known for are the stainless steel geometric public sculptures, such as the Mall’s Balls in Adelaide and the Silver Shish Kebab in Sydney. In Canberra, he was also behind Cones in the National Gallery of Australia’s Sculpture Garden.
He apparently loved stainless steel as a material because of its link to the environment through its reflectiveness.
Flugelman lived out his retirement in the town of Jambaroo, near Wollongong, and died in 2013 – and no, without a word on the location of Earthwork.
But a hint may exist.
Opened 60 years ago, Commonwealth Park has remained largely unchanged since. But a new Commonwealth Park Concept Vision 2025, put out by the NCA earlier this year, outlined some future options.
According to the NCA, the vision sets out “early thinking on options and opportunities for the renewal of Commonwealth Park over the coming decades”.
“The concept vision seeks to preserve the integrity and current uses of Commonwealth Park, while looking at ways it can evolve over time to meet the future needs of the community.”
Among the proposals are permanent garden beds for Floriade, a bigger Stage 88 amphitheatre, a new city aquatic centre – including a 50-metre pool – and more pavilions.
Map of Commonwealth Park, suggesting the possible location of Earthwork. Photo: Screenshot, Commonwealth Park Concept Vision 2025.
But one of the document’s maps, which lays out the park’s features as they are today, includes mention of Earthwork and places it between the 1981 sculpture Kangaroos and the Marsh Gardens, on the strip of land between Parkes Way and the Nerang Pool.
Or maybe it’s a gag, and we’re just meant to think it’s there?
The NCA says it’s in the process of reviewing public feedback to the Concept Vision, and no timelines have been confirmed on when it might become reality.
But when the time does come, it will be “mindful of the sculpture and sympathetic of its location”.
“To respect the artist’s wishes, the location is not shared publicly,” a spokesperson told Region.
“The NCA understands this is part of the intent behind burying the sculpture – for the public to wonder about the work as they walk the grounds of the park.”
